Meet Bryan Sackey | Mental Health Clinician, Educator, and Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bryan Sackey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bryan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It was all about connecting the threads of my culture and what defines us from the roots. Enter the Twi Flashcards. As a Ghanaian born individual who “transplanted” over to the United States at the early age of 5, I was truly enamored by what this country represented and the opportunities that lies ahead. I recall my father saying to me and my sisters on the ride from the airport to our new home: “You’re going to eat so much chicken in America that you’ll get tired of it!” Now for context, he worked at Popeyes at the time so it totally made sense haha. But more importantly what that subtle statement represented to me was that I was going to experience a new culture different from the one I was used to HOWEVER what I didn’t recognize at the time was that my eagerness to embrace everything America had to offer also had unintended consequences of letting go a bit of my own roots back in Ghana. Now ofcourse that doesn’t always have to be the case, however I felt like I had more of a “run forward and don’t bother to look back” mentality at that time. Whatever stuck with me from the past stuck with me but there was little effort to hold on to my very roots in Ghana. With all the glitz and glam of America, it was easy to embrace this new world and minimize the old one. However with this I was missing out on the power, history and sustenance that the Ghanaian culture provided for me along with the important threads of this culture that weaves throughout the black diaspora globally (including America). As I got older, I began to cherish the concept of “knowing your roots helps you to grow in alignment with your purpose in life”. This inspired me to “go back to my roots” (which is actually the concept of “Sankofa”) and develop something tangible that represented this journey. With language being such an important tool for connection, I was compelled to pursue that path. My good friend Oluchi had a similar passion for her roots (Igbo) and the language so we partnered (along with my sister) to develop the Twi Flashcards. What’s beautiful about this journey is that it provides an entry way for so many people around the world who may or may not have a similar story to myself to also embrace the Ghanaian culture in an authentic way. And so ultimately, it was passion for my roots and culture that led me to this business venture and I endeavor to share that with the world.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Although the Twi Flashcards is a passion project, professionally I am a mental health provider with a background in psychiatric pharmacology, an adjunct assistant professor, and a philanthropist. For me, psychiatric care has always felt like a perfect balance of science and art enveloped in truly compassionate patient care. As a minority, I am particularly concerned with the mental health disparities in underrepresented communities, which have been notoriously driven by the stigmas surrounding these conditions. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, only about one-quarter of African Americans seek mental health care, compared to 40% of Caucasians. Realities like this, coupled with my own experiences in witnessing many people in my community fall victim to the unfortunate outcomes of mental illness is what compelled me to create something bigger than myself that goes beyond the hospital walls of my profession. Enter Your Mind Is Our Business (YMOB). I launched YMOB in 2020 to tackle the mental health problem in our community. The name plays on the concept of many of us often deferring to the statement “mind your business” when asked about how we’re feeling…well, your mind IS my business (well, it should be anyway). YMOB comprise of socially engaging events (to include educational seminars, workshops, resource sharing) and Mental Health coaching. YMOB was developed to create safe spaces to discuss our mental well-being, and more importantly, how we can heal together. One of my favorite moments of this journey thus far was going to Ghana in 2019 and providing mental health services to one of the more underdeveloped areas in the city of Accra. It was truly a very full circle moment for me.
The essence of this program is authentic and personalized healing. With a career as a psychopharmacologist, I am equipped with the knowledge of treating mental health conditions however the approach of YMOB goes beyond medicine by embracing overall holistic (whole body) and dynamic healing which entails lifestyle changes, therapy, self-discovery, positive coping strategies, spirituality and naturalistic methods. My mantra is that you can never be fully YOU if you’re not mentally, physically and spiritually aligned.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Although I am in Texas at the moment, I am a DC and Maryland native so I will speak more so from that lense. My favorite spots in the city typically involve food. Within DC there are countless places to check out and it all depends on your mood. You can literally start on U-street where you can find great spots such as Busboys and Poets, Uncle Ben’s Chilli Bowl (although more so for the vibes and not the food), and the numerous happy hour spots along that whole strip. There’s always going to be music playing so you may be drawn to check out one of the vibey spots such as Lost Society which has multiple floors including their rooftop and a nice eclectic crowd. Now you can’t spend all your fun in one night so if you had a week, you can also check out other parts of the city to include Georgetown, H street and Adams Morgan. You absolutely cannot leave DC before checking out a museum especially the historic African American museum. And ofcourse you have to find time to embrace the heartbeat of DC in Gogo music while enjoying some chicken and mumbo sauce from one of the low key local spots.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would definitely like to shout out the inspiration behind the Twi Flashcards: Oluchi and Francis Emelogu. These two individuals pioneered the concept of developing beautifully crafted Flashcards which represented their roots. In this case for them it was the Igbo language from Nigeria. The captivating thing about this concept was that the flashcards were less so about learning a language (there’s tons of tools for that), it was more so about immersing oneself into the culture through authenticity. Such that the product represented more of an art piece which provides an entry way into the culture rather than simply flashcards.

I would also like to especially shoutout my beautiful and intelligent sister Jessica Sackey, who decided to join me on this journey of connecting people to the Ghanaian culture in the most authentic way.

Website: https://www.twiflashcards.com/products/twi-flashcards

Instagram: @twiflashcards

Twitter: @twiflashcards

Facebook: Twi Flashcards