SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Linzy Andre’s parents wanted her to become a nurse. Her becoming a nurse was a part of the “gold standard” in her Caribbean household. The “gold standard” was that she become a doctor, nurse or lawyer.
“At the time, I was actually really interested in law and had gotten accepted into a summer law program, they didn’t support that,” Andre said. “They really thought nursing was the way to go.”
After graduating from a medical-focused high school in 2008, all she needed to do was take a state exam to become a licensed practical nurse. Although, she wanted to go to college.
Andre enrolled at Hunter College in 2008 where her parents thought she would become a nursing major. She never completed the paperwork to study nursing, so she was placed as a humanities major.
“I started as a humanities major with the intent to shift to nursing, I just never did,” Andre said.
She realized that her parents didn’t have much insight into her college career, so she decided to do what felt good to her.
Although Andre thought her parents would never find out she wasn’t on track to become a registered nurse, her mother, Rhonda Hoyte, figured it out without Andre knowing. Hoyte overheard a conversation Andre was having with a classmate and figured out that Andre wasn’t talking about a nursing or science class.
“I never said anything to her because I never wanted her to feel like she was disappointing me, so I just let it be,” Hoyte said.
Andre’s father didn’t find out until graduation day in 2012.
After graduation, Andre got a retail job but soon discovered that she became anxious when dealing with customers.
“I’d take every job on the floor to just fix things up instead of actually interacting with people, and something didn’t feel right,” Andre said.
That prompted Andre to see a therapist for the first time. Overtime, Andre discovered a disconnect because her therapist was a white woman.
“I knew that she was helpful,” Andre said. “I knew that she was willing to listen, but there was too much that went into having to explain my story.”
After a year of working with that therapist, Andre decided to enroll in Hunter College’s mental health counseling master’s program. The relationship Andre had with her therapist was a motivating factor for her to complete the program.
Andre graduated with her master’s degree in 2015 and began working as a mental health counselor in a substance use program and a therapist at a private clinic. She also received her mental health counseling license in 2016. While working, she discovered that Black people weren’t getting the support she felt they needed.
In January 2019, Andre started her own therapy practice called Sunshine Advocacy.
“I was so nervous about like would people want to work with me, would anyone else understand the value of representation in working with a Black woman therapist,” Andre said.
In 2019, The American Psychological Association reported that only three percent of the country’s therapists are Black. This is why Andre believes there needs to be more Black representation in the psychology field, and she hopes to help start it.
She’s now studying for a PhD and is determined to create more diversity in therapy.
