Professional eNewsletter: July 2024

Breaking Barriers: Addressing the Unique Mental Health Challenges Faced by BIPOC Communities

By Liara Tillman, LCSW, PMH-C

As we approach the end of July and conclude National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, Endeavor Health Linden Oaks Hospital emphasizes the significance of raising public awareness about the unique mental health challenges experienced by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We continue to share the importance of promoting strategies that help break down barriers and ensure equal access to mental health support for all communities.

According to the United States 2020 Census, 40% of the US population identifies as a member of the BIPOC community. Diversity growth in the U.S. is projected to continue, yet BIPOC communities continue to struggle to accept mental health issues and access related healthcare. These struggles are rooted in historical and ongoing racism, generational trauma, and discrimination, which have a significant impact on the overall mental health of BIPOC communities.

Access is an issue. Intersectionality plays a role in how a person experiences the world, seeks, and accesses support. There are numerous challenges BIPOC communities face when it comes to finding mental health support.

Stigma in BIPOC Communities: According to Mental Health America, in communities of Black or African American descent view the need for mental health support as a sign of spiritual or moral weakness. Communities of Indigenous descent may fear being seen as weak if experiencing mental health challenges and may also worry that seeking help would bring shame to their family. In Latin or Hispanic communities, mental health is often considered a very private topic and members are reluctant to share or discuss experiences. In communities of Arab and Middle Eastern descent may see mental health issues as a sign of personal failure. Various stigmas throughout BIPOC communities make it harder to seek and accept mental health care when it is needed.

Mistrust of the Medical System: The Western medical model is used by healthcare professions in the United States and many European countries, yet it does not include the cultural practices needed to provide communities of BIPOC with high-quality care. Historical traumas, such as prevalence of mental health misdiagnosis, non-consensual research on people of color by white doctors, or higher rates of using the juvenile justice system in place of mental health treatment has all played a role in community mistrust of the medical system, making it more difficult for people to get the care they need.

The importance of cultural humility and cultural competence: To effectively support and care for a diverse population, it is crucial that healthcare providers take measures to improve cultural competence and practice humility. This includes a lifelong commitment to increasing their ability to admit what they do and don’t know about a specific group, including possible biases. Culturally competent practitioners effectively collaborate and communicate with individuals from other cultures through respect, acceptance, sensitivity, flexibility and openness to better meet the diverse needs of various communities. Cultural humility and competence drive overall improvement of health care experiences and outcomes for BIPOC communities.

How to better support BIPOC mental health: Understanding the intersectionality of the historical and lived experiences and recognizing their cumulative impact is critical to driving awareness and acceptance of treatment and breaking silence around the topic. Ideas for normalizing conversations with clients or families include:

  1. Meet people where they are: Tailoring your approach to not only cultural experience but also generational styles can help. While older people might respond better to meeting in person, younger generations may prefer a digital conversation.
  2. Keep away from buzzwords: Straying from words like mental health, anxiety or depression can go a long way to helping someone become comfortable in expressing their experience.. Consider language that focuses on overall feelings versus mental health specific terminology.
  3. Focus on the mind-body connection: Mental health concerns can show up as physical issues, such as  headaches or stomach aches. Asking about health issues and the reasons behind them may lead to easier, deeper conversations.
  4. Share family stories: It can be immensely helpful to those struggling to learn about their family members’ or other loved ones’ experiences. When possible, find ways for people to learn about other’s similar experiences to reduce stigma and help them feel less alone in their own struggles.

Finding more support with Endeavor Health Linden Oaks Hospital. Endeavor Health Linden Oaks Hospital is available to discuss treatment options for any type or level of behavioral health care. For more information on programs Endeavor Health Linden Oaks Hospital offers, call our 24/7 help line at 630-305-5027.