Reflecting on National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

Image courtesy of Knowledge and News on Women’s Health (KNOWH) blog from FDA Office of Women’s Health

Reflecting on National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

By Knina G. Harvey, LICSW, Director of Clinical and Social Work Services

As I reflect on Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, I am thankful for the increasing acknowledgment and conversation about this topic. Our experiences at St. Ann’s Center show us how transformative these conversations can be in the lives of the clients we journey with.

As a social worker, I celebrate the ways our culture is refocusing on psychological well-being, especially among those populations we might consider vulnerable. At the same time, I am keenly aware of the obstacles to mental health care that still exist and that negatively impact the overall wellbeing of minority communities.

Namely, studies show that minorities are more likely to experience depression and anxiety (and other serious mental health issues) than other races, yet they are less likely to receive help or treatment and may not even be aware of their mental health issues.

We see this firsthand at St. Ann’s Center, where clients who have survived significant traumas nevertheless may struggle to acknowledge those same experiences, and may struggle to pursue or accept clinical and social work services in processing those experiences.

Factors such as lack of access to healthcare, socioeconomic challenges, and stigma drive this gap. For example, a lack of access to healthcare may lead to illness, which can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression – disrupting not only that individual but also their environment and family. Stigma is another sizable barrier, as negative beliefs about mental health may persist in specific cultures and communities, making it harder for individuals from those same communities to trust mental health providers.

As awareness of minority mental health grows, we also recognize that institutionalized racism plays a significant role in creating and perpetuating barriers to accessing adequate support.

Studies show that minorities, particularly black individuals, experience higher stress levels of anxiety, PTSD, depression, and other health disorders yet are commonly misdiagnosed with other mental health disorders or underdiagnosed for depression. Research has shown that healthcare providers often miss the symptoms of depression in black women – which can include sleep disturbances, fatigue, decreased libido, self-criticism, and irritability – rather than more commonly recognized symptoms such as depressed mood and/or hopelessness. The misdiagnosis is due in part to a lack of cultural competence in the healthcare system.

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At St. Ann’s Center, this shows up in our work when we encounter clients who may discover, for the very first time, that long-running symptoms of fatigue and irritability might not indicate one’s temperament, but rather years of undiagnosed or underdiagnosed depression or anxiety. In such cases, months if not years are required to build a baseline of trust and begin repairing some of the damage done by systems and institutions that disregard the experiences of minority groups.

Beyond our staff’s professional qualifications and training, we lean on St. Ann’s Center’s core values to guide this deeply interpersonal work with clients: “St. Ann's is committed to care that is safe, nurturing, healing, empowering, and strength based and where all are served with compassion, dignity and respect.”

Daily, our clients demonstrate amazing resolve and resilience. Their progress and achievements give me hope and reinforce the importance of mental health work as a collaborative, co-creative process rather than a top-down system.

Individual successes should also inspire efforts to promote mental health equity on the macro scale. We can do this by working to understand the unique challenges that minorities face when it comes to mental health. We can do this by raising awareness, educating, and advocating for minority mental health. We can also encourage self-care in minority communities.

At St. Ann’s we emphasize for our clients that self-care is going to look different for everyone – but common approaches include time with family, quiet time alone, and being proactive about your mental health. We also encourage our clients to learn how to recognize the symptoms of mental health issues and understand that seeking help is empowering.

As Minority Mental Health Awareness Month 2024 concludes, I encourage everyone within and beyond our community at St. Ann’s to remember that conversation is a powerful tool. Let us use our voices — and our ears — year-round, challenging ourselves to speak out and to listen well to perspectives different from our own.

Let us keep talking. Let us stay focused on the systemic issues which contribute to mental health disparities. Let us address these issues by: recognizing and fighting oppression; ensuring equitable access to health and mental health services; increasing cultural competence among providers; and advocating for representation in the mental health profession.

- Knina G. Harvey, LICSW, Director of Clinical and Social Work Services

Learn more about Clinical and Social Work Services at St. Ann's

References

Mongelli, F., Georgakopoulos, P., & Pato, M. T. (2020). Challenges and Opportunities to Meet the Mental Health Needs of Underserved and Disenfranchised Populations in the United States. Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing), 18(1), 16–24. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20190028

https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2022/december/depression-Black-women.html
Website: NYU.edu

Gary, F.A. (2005a) ‘Stigma: Barrier to mental health care among ethnic minorities’, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 26(10), pp. 979–999. doi:10.1080/01612840500280638.

About St. Ann's Center

St. Ann’s Center helps mothers and children overcome crisis and achieve lasting independence and stability by providing a safe and supportive home, child care, education and employment assistance, and clinical social work services within a Catholic community that welcomes all.