Honor National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month With Us – West Valley Counseling Center

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16 Jul

Honor National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month With Us

It’s July. That doesn’t just mean it’s time for fireworks and backyard barbecues. It also means it’s National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, also called BIPOC Mental Health Month.

Technically speaking, Congress has named July “Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.” This honors Bebe Moore Campbell, an author who navigated her daughter’s mental illness journey with her. In doing so, she realized that Black Americans had less access to mental healthcare than their White peers. She championed expanded services for underserved communities.

Her work was a critical early step in closing the gap between mental healthcare for White people and people of color across America. But that work isn’t done yet.

The status quo: Lower access, poorer outcomes for BIPOC communities

Let’s set the stage. We’ll start with info from the American Psychiatric Association (APA). “People from racial/ethnic minority groups are less likely to receive mental health care,” the APA’s experts say. In 2015, they found that percentages of mental healthcare among minorities were much lower than for White folks. Among people with a mental illness, the percentage who received treatment is as follows:

  • White: 48%
  • Black: 31%
  • Hispanic: 31%
  • Asian: 22%

From 2018–2020, National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data found that Black adults were twice as likely to visit the emergency room for a mental health issue than White people.

One possible explanation: It takes a serious situation for someone to head to the ER. It’s likely that because Black people have less access to mental health interventions, their situations escalate unchecked.

Then, the pandemic made everything worse. Researchers found that Black, Hispanic, and Asian respondents reported higher levels of anxiety and depression than White respondents. At the same time, White Americans were more likely to get mental health care, meaning the gap in mental health outcomes was made even worse by COVID-19.

Working to level the mental health playing field

Today, people from historically marginalized communities face stress from many sides: discrimination, immigration concerns, racism, and other forms of inequity. These experiences can take a toll on your mental health. If you’re part of a minority group and your mental health feels worse than it was five or ten years ago, it’s absolutely understandable.

That doesn’t mean you have to be part of these statistics, though. Mental health services are readily available from our team here at the West Valley Counseling Center. We offer one-on-one therapy, group sessions, couple/family counseling, and more. If you want to talk to someone about what you’re going through, we’re here.

We also want to help you connect to resources that might help. For that, check out:

Don’t let the status quo keep you from getting the healthcare you need. That includes care for your mental health. If what you’re thinking and/or feeling is having a negative effect on your quality of life, reach out to our team. We can help you connect to the right services.