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In 2016, social media started a dialogue on Black men’s mental health using the hashtag #YouGoodMan following the disclosure of mental health issues by rapper Kid Cudi. In a post on his Facebook page, Cudi stated he was seeking help to treat his anxiety and depression. Research shows that African Americans often under-utilize therapy compared to White counterparts. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 18.6% of African Americans report living with a mental health condition but only 16.9% report using mental health treatment.

Based on research, we know that there are common barriers to treatment among various racial and ethnic groups. First, there is substantial evidence on mistreatment and misdiagnosis among African Americans. Studies often show that people of color are misdiagnosed with more serious psychological conditions even when they have similar symptoms as Whites. Studies also show that Black men often are socialized or grow up in homes where masculinity is emphasized and men are not encouraged to talk about their feelings or emotions. Although the mental health profession has work to do to address barriers to treatment, there must also be a change in the Black community to foster improved perceptions of mental health services. Another barrier for mental health treatment is the lack of African American therapists. For some individuals, it is important to have a therapist that looks like them. Given therapists are often White, some African Americans may be more likely to avoid treatment. If we have more providers of color, Black men may feel that their plight is better understood and therapists may better understand the dynamics faced by Black men living in the social and political system of America.

Given the importance of mental health on our functioning in society (e.g., relationships, job performance) it is paramount that we identity ways to improve treatment seeking. Some emerging work by scholars at the University of Michigan has used Facebook to understand Black men’s attitudes towards mental health. In their study, participants reported that the Facebook intervention was acceptable and it provided thought provoking content that opened Black men’s eyes to mental health issues. More importantly, the intervention appeared effective and produced lower depression ratings after completion. According to Dr. Daphne Watkins and her co-authors, the intervention appeared to be a welcoming and a nonjudgmental space for Black men. It allowed an opportunity to safely disclose information and have access to culturally sensitive mental health resources. As we move forward to addressing the mental health of Black men, we need to strongly consider incorporating the voices of Black men in research on mental health. This is vital to improving the use of treatment and the lives of Black men in America.

Read more on HuffingtonPost.com.

In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives established July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (NMMHAM). This observance aims to improve access to mental health treatment and services for multicultural communities through increased public awareness. Visit the Center for Integrated Health Solutions’ Health Disparities webpage, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health’s (OMH) website, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness website to learn more and get resources to raise awareness in your community. The National Council offers the Addressing Health Disparities Leadership program on a yearly basis.

OMH will participate in three Twitter chats this month. You can join by following @MinorityHealth:

Minority Mental Health at the Community Level
Wed, July 12, 2-3 pm ET
Co-hosts: @NIMHD
#MinorityMH

HRSA’s Behavioral Health 
Thurs, July 20, 3-4pm ET
Host: @NHSCorps
#BHealthy

Minority Mental Health Disparities
Tues, July 25, 1-2pm ET
Host: @SaludToday 
#SaludTues

If you wish to be involved on social media during the month you could also share minority mental health awareness information, images and graphics with the hashtag #MinorityMentalHealth throughout July.

Visit the NMMHAM Facebook page. Learn about past webinars and events on the NNED NMMHAM page.

In an effort to address high rates of youth suicide, the Anchorage school district is expanding its crisis response team. Made up of more than a dozen staff members, the team helps schools respond to traumatic events in their communities. Their crisis response protocol is based on the PREPaRE model, which was developed by the National Association of School Psychologists to prevent and respond to psychological trauma in schools. After a suicide death, the crisis response team is sent to the school to meet with faculty and students, identify and assist those in distress, and ensure that the necessary mental health services are available. The team tailors its response to the needs of the school, in collaboration with school principals, and works closely with school counselors and mental health staff, bringing in outside psychologists as needed. The Anchorage school district also provides suicide prevention education to middle school students, and has developed a handout for parents that include information on risk factors and warning signs for suicide.

Read more on AlaskaStar.com. Read more about PREPaRE.

Bringing down the rate of HIV infection in one of the United States’ great public health triumphs of the past quarter-century. Now, thanks to the opioid epidemic, some of those hard-won gains may be reversed.

Opioids, as well as being harmful on their own, also increase the risk of HIV outbreaks, as users sometimes inject the drugs using shared, infected syringes. That drove a clustered outbreak in Scott County, Indiana, where then-Governor Mike Pence declared a public health emergency in 2015 because of a spate of new HIV infections.

Hoping to prevent future outbreaks and to drive the HIV infection rate to zero, public health experts held a Capitol Hill summit Wednesday.

The summit’s organizer, the anti-HIV public health advocate amfAR, is rolling out a new website that assembles a wealth of data on the opioid epidemic and its relationship to HIV and other infectious diseases such as hepatitis C (HCV). This includes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on the 220 opioid addiction-racked U.S. counties which are most vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks linked to injection drug use.

The vulnerable counties have high rates of poverty and unemployment, limiting their resources for providing services that can prevent or curtail outbreaks of infectious disease driven by injection drug abuse. Such services include syringe exchange programs and opioid agonist therapy with methadone or buprenorphine. 

Read more on WashingtonPost.com.

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) and the Center for Children’s Law and Policy are accepting applications for the Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate Program to be held November 14-17, 2017, in Washington, DC. This training will focus on strategies for local jurisdictions to reduce overrepresentation and address racial and ethnic disparities in their juvenile justice systems. Deadline to apply is August 4, 2017.

Read more about the program. Apply now!

Rocsana Enriquez started thinking about yoga again when she was pregnant. She was 19 and in an abusive relationship.

When she was younger, Rocsana, whom the author had interviewed as part of her research, had taken part in a yoga program in a San Francisco Bay Area juvenile hall run by The Art of Yoga Project. She began using the skills she learned on the mat to slow herself down when she got angry and to pause before reacting. She remembered the breathing techniques and poses that made her feel better about herself. Now, seeking the same quietness she had been able to achieve in class back in juvenile hall, she reached out to the program, never expecting to hear back.

Childhood trauma has a devastating impact on both the mind and the body of children who experience it. But that mind-body connection also offers a path toward healing. A growing body of research demonstrates the effectiveness of addressing the mental and physical impact of trauma through yoga and other somatic, or body-based, programs.

The Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, of which the author is executive director, released a first-of-its-kind report in April that synthesizes existing research, interviews with experts across the country and two original pilot studies focused on at-risk girls. Their conclusion: yoga and mindfulness programs can equip girls like Rocsana – especially those in the juvenile justice system – with tools that help them thrive.

Research shows that Rocsana is not alone in experiencing abuse as a young person. Children in the United States experience trauma at breathtakingly high rates. In the seminal Adverse Childhood Experiences survey of more than 17,000 participants, 21 percent reported experiencing sexual abuse as children; 26 percent reported physical abuse; and 14.8 percent reported emotional neglect. Youth in the juvenile justice system are the most vulnerable, reporting higher rates of trauma than their peers. These experiences take a long-term toll not only on their mental health, but their physical health as well. These children are more likely than others to experience depression and substance abuse as adults – and they exhibit higher rates of heart disease, cancer and liver disease.

Studies reveal that yoga programs designed specifically for victims of trauma – programs that include regulated breathing, controlled movement and mindfulness practices – can have far-ranging benefits for any participant. Improvements have been shown in mental health (self-regulation, self-esteem) and physical health (better sleep, a reduction in gastric symptoms and many other positive outcomes).

Read more on TheConversation.com.