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Dr. LaDonna Butler, a survivor of domestic and sexual violence as a teen, knows the challenge of enduring trauma, compounded by facing stereotypes and other systemic barriers. Butler has since become a licensed mental health counselor and founder of The Well for Life in the Deuces neighborhood of St. Petersburg.

One challenge to recovery from trauma is the strong Black woman stereotype, which “goes back to this feeling [that] Black women have high pain tolerance,” which is rooted in racism but could also be internalized by “Black folks who believe the same lie,” she explained.

Butler explained that often when society says, “You are strong,” or “How quickly you got over that,” they are essentially ignoring your pain or they expect you to move on as if nothing happened.

The angry Black woman stereotype could be another recovery challenge.

“The feeling of being tired or fatigued, or hesitation, those aren’t seen as trauma experienced, but as an angry Black woman,” Butler noted. “Others are given the benefit of grace and compassion. For some Black women, they aren’t given the same compassion and empathy, and there is an expectation of strength of grace, even in the midst of absolute disruption.”

The jezebel stereotype, which overly sexualizes Black women, could also “diminish the impact” of a sexually traumatic event, “as if she asked for it,” Butler said.

Tanya Valentine Allen, with a Master’s of Social Work degree, is a case manager at Largo Medical. She said the strong Black women and angry Black women stereotypes, in particular, were like “a double-edged sword” because what’s seen as strength in standing up for yourself could also be seen as “you’re that angry woman.”

Furthermore, Allen said some might feel “asking for help is a sign of weakness, and I’m not weak,” which prevents them from seeking help for mental health problems.

“I think another thing that interferes is our ability to access mental health services with people who are like us, where they’re not judgmental,” Allen added. “We’re misunderstood often, and I think that interferes with us seeking help that’s very much needed.”

Read more at WUSFNews.edu.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Servicios de La Raza has been selected as the Partner of the Month for October in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Servicios de La Raza (Servicios) is a bilingual human services organization founded in 1972 to serve Denver, Colorado’s low-income Spanish-speaking populations with linguistically and culturally responsive social services. Initially, Servicios was a licensed facility for the treatment of mental health and chronic mental illnesses. Two years later, the agency applied to Colorado’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division for funding and licensure as an approved alcohol and substance abuse treatment center. Servicios is now the preeminently recognized comprehensive health and human services agency addressing the needs of the Latino and other underserved and marginalized communities across the Denver metropolitan area and Colorado, providing services to more than 30,000 people a year.

Some of the programs and services that are currently offered:

• Substance Misuse Treatment and Prevention
• EMDR Therapy
• Individual, Couple, Family, and Group Therapy
• Mobile Health Unit
• AIDS Drug Assistance Program

Learn more about Servicios de La Raza and its mission to serve the most vulnerable members of the community who live on the margins and rarely have access to culturally responsive human services.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.

It’s no secret that our country is in the midst of a mental health crisis, which was only furthered by the Covid-19 pandemic. Many Americans are either experiencing a mental health illness or know someone who is. But our crisis doesn’t stop there; the majority also aren’t happy with the current behavioral health options in the United States. According to a poll conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Ipsos, 75% of Americans say they aren’t content with the state of mental health treatment in the country.

Fortunately, politicians on both sides of the aisle have taken notice and are showing support to improve behavioral health. On July 16, 988 became the new three-digit hotline for behavioral health—akin to 911—with support for increased funding. However, we also know that these types of changes are often slow-moving and can leave important groups of people out of the equation.

The issue of behavioral health access in marginalized communities is not a problem that can be solved overnight or with a one-size-fits-all solution. However, technology can help bridge some of these gaps, and it can do so when we need it most — now.

For example, technology offering a real-time snapshot of open treatment beds and providers can break down care barriers by helping patients and their loved ones gain access to care at the local level. For payers and providers, real-time patient admission, discharge, and transfer data can ensure they are aware of exactly where a patient is on their care journey. Further, technology can offer opportunities for our communities to begin addressing social determinants of health. For example, by providing proper education via publicly accessible technology, our communities can better understand the free resources available to them, like crisis centers or government programs or preventive health services covered by the Affordable Care Act. Through technology, we can also begin to educate our communities about the importance of behavioral health and how symptoms of common mental health issues often present themselves.

Read more at Forbes.com.

Norma Fabian Newton had heard of other new mothers experiencing the “baby blues,” short-term sadness and anxiety. But when she had her first child in her early 30s, she described her experience as a “constant barrage of thoughts.” She was showing signs of postpartum depression, a term she had never heard. Through therapy sessions, she would later realize part of the reason she didn’t know how to deal with her postpartum depression was because the people in her life didn’t openly talk about their mental health struggles.

It’s important to normalize mental health conversations at home, but the first step is becoming more comfortable with talking about mental health yourself.

Growing up, Newton said feelings were regarded as something that needed to be overcome as quickly as possible. If she was crying, she was told to stop. She learned to numb her feelings, which eventually manifested as anxiety and depression.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness website states the Hispanic/Latinx community “can be very private and may not want to publicly talk about” the challenges in their homes or in their lives. This can continue the cycle of stigma or taboo view of mental health in the community.

There are three types of barriers to talking about, learning about, or receiving mental healthcare:

• Individual barriers, which include cultural influences, exposure to stressful situations, and knowledge or access to the mental health system.
• Community barriers, which refer to communities that lack access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services.
• Societal barriers, which include poor living conditions, inadequate transportation, and social exclusion (feeling like you don’t belong in a community or to larger society).

Read more at LATimes.com.

Asian Americans are among the least likely to seek mental health care. In one study, less than 9% sought any type of mental health services over one year compared with 18% of the general U.S. population. The COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by an increase in anti-Asian hate and violence, has further highlighted the lack of mental health awareness, research and treatment among the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

These were among the issues addressed by a virtual panel of mental health experts during a May 25 event organized by the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education. The panelists, who shared personal and professional experiences, discussed the current state of mental health among the AAPI community and ways to overcome barriers to care.

Raising awareness is key to encouraging AAPIs to seek mental health care, said DJ Ida, PhD, executive director of the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association. A silver lining of the ongoing pandemic has been more awareness that mental health issues can affect anyone, she said.

“It begins to take the stigma away because it isn’t, ‘Oh, there is something wrong with me,’” she said. “We always tell people, if you’re breathing, then mental health will be part of your life one way or another.” She added that even mental health professionals like her can forget to give themselves the space to feel grief and pain in difficult times.

As a suicide attempt survivor, Pata Suyemoto, PhD, director of training and programs at the National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association, shared her own experience of seeking mental health care.

“It was difficult to find a therapist that had cultural humility,” she said. “I’m 60 years old — until my current therapist, no one ever asked me about the impact of my culture on my mental health.” Her mother’s bipolar disorder and her father’s trauma of being imprisoned during World War II in an internment camp were never acknowledged out loud in her family — a silence familiar to many in the AAPI community. “As an Asian American, I feel like it’s really important for us to be out with our healing, if you will,” she said.

Read more at Med.Stanford.edu.

Carol Seppilu (Siberian Yupik) was born on Saint Lawrence Island, west of mainland Alaska in the Bering Sea. She suffered a harsh childhood, which led to depression and alcoholism. Some 23 years ago in the month of September, at age 16, she attempted suicide after a night of heavy drinking.

The years that followed were extremely challenging for Seppilu. After the attempt to take her own life, she had to undergo numerous painful surgeries, including a tracheotomy and the insertion of a permanent tube in her neck to help her breathe. Depression loomed over her, and she spent most of her days in bed, sometimes up to 20 hours.

She remembers thinking one day, “Carol, you need to get up and do something.” So she laced up her shoes, got her dog — a mixed breed Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky named Solar — and began a two-mile run around her neighborhood. As a result, her once small steps have become powerful strides. Since then, Seppilu has used running as a tool for battling depression. She describes running as a form of medication and prayer — a pure joy she hasn’t found anywhere else that allows her to listen to nature and connect with her ancestors.

Her closest friend, Crystal Toolie, said she hopes more people will hear Seppilu’s story so that there is an awareness of not only the importance of mental health but to bring awareness of the historical trauma that the Alaska Native community is going through.

Stories of suicide are sadly familiar in Indian Country. Native peoples have the highest rates of suicide of any racial or ethnic group in the U.S. — up to three times higher, according to estimates. The numbers are particularly worrisome for younger generations of Native Americans. In 2019, suicide was the second-leading cause of death for Native peoples between the ages of 10 and 34.

Read more at NativeNewsOnline.net.