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Mental health experts are concerned about upward trends in suicide among Black youth. Studies show they’re attempting suicide more often than all other racial and ethnic groups – and the suicide death rate is rising at a faster pace.

A number of things can contribute to the increased risk. One is the presence of a psychiatric disorder. Others include socioeconomic factors, racism, trauma and being the victim of bullying. Experts say increasing access to treatment and highlighting protective measures—such as a young person having a strong support system—are ways to help reduce the risk.

Black youth suicide in the United States has been labeled a crisis by some mental health experts. Research shows that Black youth under 13 are twice as likely to die by suicide. Experts continue to study the how and why behind the increases. But Dr. Rhonda Boyd says one reason could be generational shifts.

“One of the things that may be different than other generations is that youth are able to see racist events over and over and over again everywhere they go. And we do have evidence that shows that there’s links between increased depression symptoms and post-traumatic stress symptoms when kids are exposed to racism,” says Boyd, an Associate Professor & Psychologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Boyd adds that the underutilization of mental health services could be playing a role in Black youth suicide as well. there is stigma associated with accessing treatment. And the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology says mental health and substance use problems in Black youth are often unrecognized, undertreated and misdiagnosed. The reasons include bias, discrimination, and structural racism.

The Academy also says Black youth are also more likely to get poor quality care and less likely to receive follow up treatment.

“We probably have a perception of who’s at risk for killing themselves and it looks different. And so, we want people to not ignore Black youth and think, oh, it’s a phase, or see behaviors and put them into disciplinary environments or the legal system and know that they need mental health treatment,” Boyd says.

Read more at WUWM.com.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Northern Ohio Recovery Association has been selected as the Partner of the Month for January.

Northern Ohio Recovery Association (NORA) works to establish innovative care to support continued recovery of the communities they serve. NORA provides culturally relevant chemical dependency services with dignity and respect to youth, adults, and families in Northeast Ohio.

Some of the programs and services that are currently offered:

• Medication Assisted Treatment
• Intensive Inpatient Treatment for Women
• Outpatient Treatment
• Peer Recovery Support

Learn more about Northern Ohio Recovery Association and its mission to empower individuals, families and communities to support lifestyles of recovery.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.

The death of Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss is putting mental health in the spotlight. A man known to light up a room as the loveable DJ and dancer from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” took his own life, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

Many people are expressing shock online about what’s happened.

The Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2019 suicide was the second leading cause of death for African Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 and the death rate was four times greater for Black men than Black women.

Local licensed psychotherapist Dr. Sarah Williams said, “Unfortunately, particularly in African American males we will miss a lot of the signs and symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts and ideations, particularly around the holidays. If there has been an experience of depression, it’s probably going to be magnified just because of the variables that go along with the holiday season. If you’ve had grief and trauma, unfortunately, the holidays just amplifies it.”

“Systemically there has been a problem with cultural competence in health care overall and our mental health space is not necessarily separate from that particular issue. Individuals that are members of the community of color, they have difficulty finding those resources, finding clinicians of color and being able to connect in a way that will offer some type of healing and therapeutic support,” said Dr. Williams.

Dr. Williams says to ask people specific questions about how they are feeling like, ‘How are you sleeping?’ or ‘What is life like for you these days?’ Instead of just asking how someone’s day was.

Read more at WTKR.com.

Karen Osterle is a therapist who specializes in anxiety, anxious depression, and relationship issues. So for her, the pandemic has been like running one long Ironman Triathlon. Multiple times. While Osterle made sure not to overcommit herself, she still felt more drained and less present during sessions, and her marriage became strained, too, as she spent less time being present with her spouse.

So the master became the student: Osterle increased her own practice of the methods she recommends to overworked and anxious clients. She has focused on exercise and wellness—upping the number of times a week she runs three and a half miles, making a point to meditate each morning before she starts sessions, and ending the workday with a half-hour stretch. She stopped working in the evenings—no more meeting clients at 7:30 pm. “In some ways, you gain time because you don’t have a commute,” says Osterle. “In other ways, time is melting into itself. Boundaries become more important than ever.”

About one of every five American adults struggles with mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, with about 52 million affected in 2020. The US already had barriers to those seeking mental health care—especially people of color—such as affordability and an inadequate number of providers, and the pandemic has exacerbated this. In a 2021 American Psychological Association survey, 43 percent of participating psychologists saw increased demand across the board, with the greatest need being treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress. In the same report, 68 percent said their waitlist had expanded since Covid’s start, 41 percent reported not having the capacity to meet the heightened need, and 46 percent were experiencing burnout.

As people settle into what seems to be a permanent relationship with Covid—against a backdrop of inflation, the war in Ukraine, mass shootings, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade—the mental-health crisis is unlikely to fade away anytime soon.

Read more at Washingtonian.com.

When we think of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the name resonates with the fight for freedom from segregation and civil rights justice for people of all racial backgrounds and classes. Often overlooked and rarely the focus of media attention was his quiet fight against mental illness.

It has been speculated, though he was never officially diagnosed, that he suffered from depression—and according to a Time Magazine profile on his life, twice attempted suicide in his youth. Later in life, just prior to his assignation it is reported that several members of his staff attempted to secure a psychiatric intervention for him. Theorizing about his mental health is not meant to be a critique or an attempt to discredit the awesome and inspiring actions of Dr. King, but rather to quell the incessant myth that those who suffer with mental illness are incapable of historic accomplishments.

Dr. King rarely spoke publicly regarding mental health, but when he did, like everything else he said, his words continue to resonate and create a lasting impact to this day. Yet, at firsthand, we don’t tend to associate his legacy with the fight against mental health stigmas, and towards an equalized and proactive mental health system.

But throughout his adulthood, Dr. King’s social and political successes ran parallel with his mental illness battle, yet the latter was only known by close friends and family members. Sadly, King experienced the same mental health stigmas currently faced by countless people in the United States. He feared his political and social justice accomplishments would be overshadowed or discredited if news of his struggle with mental health came to light. Despite these personal and professional obstacles, Rev. King never altered his convictions, or faltered from his objectives. If anything, he believed that his ‘maladjustment’, a term he used in a keynote speech for the American Psychological Association in 1967, strengthened his resolve to continue the fight for equality.

His struggle with mental illness was internalized, something those suffering from mental illness in the United States still experience on a daily basis.

The stigma and stereotype are still so persistent and tenacious that the open and honest discussion of mental illness remains taboo in some communities of color; who still face marginalization, bigotry and discrimination in our country. Stereotypes depicting people with mental illness as being dangerous, unpredictable, dramatic, overly sensitive, or generally incapable bullies many into silence. This fear of alienation from the community combined with a historically rational distrust of medical institutions and a disparaging lack of resources, results in communities that are less likely to seek needed care and are more likely to receive substandard care when treated.

Read more at Counseling.org.

Researchers have long pointed to the importance of incorporating cultural practices into behavioral health care for Native Americans, but there is an ongoing struggle to ensure those services are accessible and affordable.

In past years, federal and state legislation aimed at increasing insurance coverage of mental health treatment has expanded the availability of Western services for many. But access to culturally responsive care and traditional healing remains limited. In the larger landscape of mental and behavioral health care, Indigenous communities face significant disparities.

Native Americans report experiencing serious psychological distress 2.5 times more than the general population, federal data show. And although overall suicide rates are similar to those of white people, there are key differences among certain age groups — with suicides among Native Americans ages 15 to 19 more than double that of white youth.

Traditional healing rituals have always been a part of Indigenous culture. Whereas Western medicine focuses on curing, often through the use of medication, Indigenous healing aims to reestablish harmony and balance – more akin, experts say, to “recovering one’s wholeness.”

Practices vary among tribes, but they typically include herbal remedies and ceremonies, such as smudging or sweat lodge gatherings, to heal and maintain mental, physical and spiritual health. And spiritual health is key, along with participation not only from the individual being treated but from loved ones or other tribal members.

Traditional services are free to Native Americans at facilities operated by the Indian Health Service, but supply can’t always keep up with demand at the chronically underfunded federal agency.

Read more at Tucson.com.