Updated 12/20/2022.
There’s no denying thatmental health care in Black communitiesacross America has been woefully neglected. Black and African American (B/AA) people have been left to deal with the abhorrent history of slavery, colonialism, segregation, oppression, misogyny, stereotyping, and blatant racism. The aftermath of this is proving devastating, as research continues to show an increased risk of B/AA people developing mental health conditions relative to other populations.
According to theColumbia UniversityDepartment of Psychiatry:
It’s plausible that the Black community in this country is at an increased risk of developing mental health conditions at a disproportionate rate as a result of historical, social, political, and economic forces that affect their psychological wellness. Couple this with the known stigma that’s associated with mental health care and the Black community, and the problem is more evident than ever.
Continue reading to learn how we can all contribute to breaking the stigmas surrounding mental health care in Black communities. It’s the only way we can progress society towards adequate and accessible mental health care for all members of the B/AA community.
The History of Mental Health in Black Communities
Mental health doesn’t discriminate based on skin color, gender, or race. Anyone can develop a mental health condition, regardless of their history or background. However, someone’s backgroundcanput them at higher risk in terms of receiving the mental health care and mental health treatment they may need.
The barriers preventing members of the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community from getting adequate and effective mental health care run the gamut. Everything from socioeconomic inequities, to the presence ofculturally incompetent mental health care providers, to the realities of a fundamental lack of trust within the healthcare system as a whole are at play.
“Cultural incompetence and implicit bias of health care providers likely contributes to underdiagnosis and/or misdiagnosis of mental illness in BIPOC. Language differences between patient and provider, stigma of mental illness among BIPOC, and cultural presentation of symptoms are some of the many barriers to care that explain these errors in the diagnostic process.”
Some research estimates that up to17%of Black adults have a mental health condition. Further, in terms of mental health care in Black communities, it’s been well-established that BIPOC groups are less likely to reach out for mental health help and that they’re more likely to:
Black Pioneers in Mental Health
To this day, there’s still a disproportionate number of BIPOC mental health professionals. Someresearchshows that an estimated 86% of psychologists are White, compared to just 4% who are B/AA.
Through the years, though, there have been numerous Black mental health champions and Black psychologists who’ve contributed greatly to our understanding of the inadequacies pertaining to mental health care of B/AA people. Some of them include:
The future lies in expanding our knowledge about the historical and current tribulations that all members of the BIPOC community face daily. We must work diligently to destigmatize mental health care in Black communities and remove the barriers so many continue to face.
Paving a New Future for Accessible Mental Healthcare in Black Communities
It’s unfortunate it even needs to be noted that members of the BIPOC community should be privy to the same quality of mental health resources as the rest of the US populace. Access, affordability, and effectiveness should be a given, regardless of socioeconomic status or any other factors at hand.
That’s why it’s so imperative that mental health and other healthcare professionals, and the general population, join together to eradicate the stigma associated with mental health in Black communities.
“Alvin Poussaint, former clinical professor and dean of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, author of Why Blacks Kill Blacks, and activist argued for changes to the diagnosis manual to list bigotry as a mental health disorder. He stated, ‘The real reason the psychiatric association hasn’t made racism a mental health issue is because it hasn’t been a mental health issue for them.’ To pathologize racism, he said, would require its members ‘to look at their friends, their relatives, and themselves in an uncomfortable light.’ Advocating for the inclusion of hateful aggressive acts of bigotry in the diagnostic manual could help identify individuals and groups to protect them and their targets from their delusional agenda.
We also need to have more B/AA mental health professionals at all levels — from reception nurses at hospitals to clinical psychologists and others. The field currently suffers tremendously from a quite limited level of cultural competency.
Increasing mental health awareness in Black communities regarding the essential importance of accessing and using mental health resources can be instrumental in overcoming the disparities between BIPOC and other communities. The movement of makingtherapy for people of colormore widely accessible is one that needs to be prioritized.
While the history of mental health care in Black communities is bleak, the future can be bright, as long as we work to change things. Yes, it will require effort and persistence to remove the barriers that have been in place for so long, but itispossible. The solution begins with honoring Black, African American, and BIPOC history and destigmatizing mental health care in these communities.
Sources:1. Vance, PhD T. Addressing Mental Health in the Black Community. Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/addressing-mental-health-black-community. Published 2019. Accessed July 20, 2022.2. Black and African American Communities and Mental Health. Mental Health America.https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health. Accessed July 19, 2022.3. Hudson, Ph.D. C. Socioeconomic Status and Mental Illness: Tests of the Social Causation and Selection Hypotheses. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2005;75(1).https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2005/03/low-ses. Accessed July 19, 2022.4. Mental Health Resources For Black, Indigenous, And People Of Color. Mental Health America.https://www.mhanational.org/bipoc-mental-health. Accessed July 19, 2022.5. Lin, MPP L, Stamm, PhD K, Christidis, PhD P. How diverse is the psychology workforce?. APA’s Center for Workforce Studies. 2018;49(2):19.https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint. Accessed July 19, 2022.6. “Ethnic and Racial Minorities & Socioeconomic Status.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, July 2017,https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities.
Sources:
Vance, PhD T. Addressing Mental Health in the Black Community. Columbia University Department of Psychiatry.https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/addressing-mental-health-black-community. Published 2019. Accessed July 20, 2022.
Black and African American Communities and Mental Health. Mental Health America.https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health. Accessed July 19, 2022.
Hudson, Ph.D. C. Socioeconomic Status and Mental Illness: Tests of the Social Causation and Selection Hypotheses. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2005;75(1).https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2005/03/low-ses. Accessed July 19, 2022.
Mental Health Resources For Black, Indigenous, And People Of Color. Mental Health America.https://www.mhanational.org/bipoc-mental-health. Accessed July 19, 2022.
Lin, MPP L, Stamm, PhD K, Christidis, PhD P. How diverse is the psychology workforce?. APA’s Center for Workforce Studies. 2018;49(2):19.https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint. Accessed July 19, 2022.6. “Ethnic and Racial Minorities & Socioeconomic Status.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, July 2017,https://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities.
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