Nashua health officials are working to decrease the stigma surrounding mental health for Latinos in the city, through an initiative that seeks to understand the community’s current mental health needs.
Equity Officer Iraida Muñoz said the city’s division of public health hosted a community conversation last month about mental health in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with a focus on emotional well-being. She said some of the most interesting responses were about the cultural taboos among Latinos about talking about mental health — especially for young men.
“Some of the answers we found is that people don’t talk about their feelings at home; this isn’t something Hispanics usually emphasize, but they do connect in other ways,” Muñoz said in Spanish.
Watila Burpee is a therapist at the Greater Nashua Mental Health Center who has spent nearly two decades working with Hispanic clients and raising awareness about the ongoing mental health crisis. Echoing Muñoz, she said an additional barrier for many of her clients is the cultural attitude towards mental health.
“Latino culture doesn’t see mental illness as something that is important to take care, just like the physical health,” she said. “They think that’s a shame. That’s just something that we don’t talk about.”
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