News

Richelle Concepcion still remembers the name she was called after trying to stop a White kid who was picking on younger peers on the swim team in high school.

“Shut the f**k up, you Oriental b*tch!” that kid yelled at her so many years ago.

Though Concepcion, a Filipina American, wasn’t the only person teased by that kid at her school in San Francisco, she was the only one called a racial slur.

“After that event, I spent time ruminating on the experience and went over scenarios in my head about what I could have said back, whether I was indeed what he called me, etc.,” said Concepcion, now a psychologist at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, via email.

The racially motivated event and long-term subjection to stereotypes were two of many experiences “that inspired my work, as I tend to be very cognizant of the experiences of my patients who identify as people of color,” she added.

Mental health issues affect everyone, but people of color — Black, Latinx, Asian and Native American people — have higher rates of some mental health disorders and face greater disparities in getting help than White people. Those issues are primarily due to lack of access to services resulting from institutional discrimination, interpersonal racism and stigma — which can all harm the psyche of people of color in places where they are not the majority.

Such disparities have existed for decades, but “what we’re seeing is that some of the stresses that are associated with being a member of a marginalized group have been exacerbated during the pandemic,” said Brian Smedley, the American Psychological Association’s chief of psychology in the public interest and acting chief diversity officer.

During the pandemic, many people have experienced mental health stressors such as unemployment, sick and lost loved ones, disrupted social lives, insecurity about the future and a lack of internal peace — all of which threaten people’s socioeconomic status and stress levels. And minorities already disproportionately experience those misfortunes.

“There’s a high likelihood that (the pandemic) is also affecting mental health and well-being for these populations as well,” added Smedley, who leads the APA’s efforts to apply the science and practice of psychology to the problems of human welfare and social justice.

Read more at CNN.com.

Every morning, around 30 staff members with the Native American Community Clinic get together in an online virtual huddle.

Before the day’s duties are assigned, Elder in Residence Renee Beaulieu-Banks, a member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, starts out with a quick blessing – first in Ojibwemowin, and then again in English.

“We have conversations with spirits. We invite them to listen. We thank them, offer them tobacco for our requests and for our gratitude,” Beaulieu-Banks says. “That’s what I do in the morning. I do a request for healing. Not only for ourselves, but for the community and each other.”

Beaulieu-Banks also addresses the spirit of COVID-19, requesting that it have mercy on not only the native people, but everyone. She thanks the spirits for bringing the medical team together for this work, calling them “our warriors.” Staff members at the clinic, which provides health services to members of Minneapolis’ sizable Native American population, overwhelmingly say the introduction helps orient them and starts the day out in a “good way.”

Much of the coverage of Native Americans during the pandemic has focused on hard-hit rural reservations. But 78% of American Indians and Alaska Natives – who were either AI/AN alone or in combination with at least one other race – lived outside reservations or similar areas as of the 2010 Census, many of them in urban areas. Native residents of Minneapolis haven’t been immune to the challenges posed by COVID-19, including the mental health impacts of quarantine, isolation and financial instability.

As the pandemic progresses into winter, health experts warn that cases could spike as colder temperatures force more people inside. But a theme of resilience reverberates through NACC staff members and their patients. These are people who have gone through hard times before.

They adapt and survive.

“It may get worse as winter months approach, but I think our people are really resilient. We get through these things,” Beaulieu-Banks says. “There are other epidemics raging through our community. … Try and focus on the healing. Healing is happening. The more we talk about the healing, the more we’re going to see. I think we’re going to come out of this OK. “

Read more on USNews.com.

The current Black Lives Matter movement responding to anti-Black police brutality has evidenced the violence and discrimination that Black people in the U.S. (and elsewhere in the world) experience.

Although the passing of the 13th amendment to the constitution in 1865 legally abolished slavery, its effects continue to structure the present world.

A 2015 systematic review looking at racial bias in healthcare indicated that racial bias manifests itself through positive attitudes toward white people and negative attitudes toward people of color. It added that this bias has a significant impact on patient outcomes.

While many healthcare providers are explicitly committed to equal treatment of all individuals, biases can also operate implicitly. An explicit commitment to equal treatment is no guarantee that equal treatment will follow.

Crucially, how people recognize bias has associations with the racial group with which they identify. As the authors of the present study note, drawing on previous research:

“Whites are more motivated to disavow stereotypes that cast Whites as racists, and use a higher threshold for racist behaviors, often reserving them only to behaviors and attitudes that are blatantly racist.”

Consequently, to account for racial bias in a healthcare setting, researchers need to consider the experiences and perceptions of non-white people.

Read more on MedicalNewsToday.com.

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. Centro Multicultural La Familia has been selected as the Partner of the Month for October to honor National Hispanic Heritage Month and National Depression & Mental Health Screening Month. 

Centro Multicultural La Familia, is a private, not-for-profit, mission-driven organization that provides comprehensive services to a diverse community in Michigan. While most of the clients served now are of Hispanic descent, they strive to offer services to a broader cultural community. 

Centro Multicultural La Familia is proud to be able to offer culturally and linguistically competent services in the areas of mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, home-based Early Head Start and Great Parents parenting programs, Integrated Care for patients with a chronic medical condition in collaboration with St. Joseph hospital, support and interpretation for pregnant women at Clinica de la Mujer, and Parent Education workshops. 

Some of the programs and services that are currently offered: 

• Mental Health Program – Their bilingual staff offers specialized counseling services for children, adolescents, adults and families in the areas of mental health, depression, anxiety and other issues. They also provide brief interventions and solution-focused therapy to help clients improve their quality of life.  
• Victims of Crime and Domestic Violence Program – The program offers a culturally sensitive, Spanish language program to help victims of abuse. It provides individual advocacy-based counseling and a support group for victims of abuse in the areas of domestic violence, sexual assault, physical assault, hate crimes, bullying, teen dating violence, child abuse and human trafficking. 
• Ventanilla de Salud (Health Workshops) – Health education and information provided in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in Detroit. Staff and volunteers provide health education on topics such as diabetes, hypertension, breast cancer, prostate cancer, depression, anxiety, HIV testing, etc.  
• Language Interpretation – Language interpretation at different agencies including Women’s Center at St Joseph Hospital. Bilingual staff provides interpretation between pregnant women and their physician so they can communicate better and have healthier outcomes.  
• Assistance with Medicaid and Health Insurance Applications – They will assist with applications for Medicaid, food stamps, child care thanks to funding received from Blue Cross Blue Shield. They also have computers that the public can use to apply for these benefits themselves. 

Learn more about Centro Multicultural La Familia and their variety of programs that reflect the mission to provide culturally-competent support services to families in a holistic approach in order to improve their quality of life. 

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.

A group of Asian American high school students are trying to raise awareness about mental health, something they say their peers desperately need. 

They have used their time in quarantine to launch a nonprofit, Project Lotus.

The lack of knowledge and awareness when it comes to dealing with mental health issues is a problem in their community, they say. “I realized that this trend was mostly with my Asian American peers and I thought, ‘OK, it’s obviously not an individual’s fault, it’s probably caused by the Model Minority Myth,” said Helen Chen, a junior at Westview High School. 

The Model Minority Myth is a stereotype that places high expectations on Asian American kids to succeed in a specific field. Those who fail may be stigmatized, seen as weak-minded, and shunned by the community. 

Because of this, the students say, Asian Americans may develop a fear of vulnerability and imperfection. They can also be less open to sharing their problems, bottling them up instead. 

“After I really experienced how deeply rooted this problem was in Asian American communities, I really wanted to bring change,” said Joyce Chen, Sunset High School junior.

Chen, along with Daniel Gu, Helen Chen, and Aaron Li, recently launched Project Lotus, a nonprofit that aims to destigmatize mental health in the Asian American community. 

“We do that by tackling the model minority myth through culturally relevant education for the community and the empowerment of our community’s voices,” explained Daniel Gu, Westview High School junior.

They host webinars, community blogs and even a podcast, The Root Problem, where they host raw discussions surrounding mental health. 

Asian Americans are three times less likely to seek mental health help than other Americans. The students say many factors contribute to that. “(There are) really, really distinct cultural differences, especially this intergenerational conflict that makes mental health a taboo topic among families,” explained Gu.

Project Lotus hopes to bridge intergenerational gaps through their services. “I think that ultimately, I just want to see the same change I saw within my family surrounding mental health, just more understanding of what it was and more acceptance,” said Gu.

Project Lotus aims to engage adults and students alike. They hope to provide services in different languages in the near future.

Read more at KGWNews.com.

In her years as a mental health practitioner, Kyaien Conner saw a system that fell short for people of color.

Most of her clients were white, even though she worked at mental health agencies in communities of color. And the tools used for diagnosis had been fine-tuned for predominantly white communities, leading to care that was insufficient for people of other races.

Today, as an assistant professor in the University of South Florida’s Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, Conner uses research to drive change in her profession.

But the disparities she saw on the front lines are still very much in place, as evidenced by a report released early Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that takes a snapshot of the nation’s pre-pandemic mental health.

In the past year, according to the report, non-Hispanic white adults were more likely to have received mental health treatment than any other race or Hispanic-origin group. The percentage of Black and Hispanic adults who received mental health treatment was about 10 points lower. Hispanic adults were the least likely to have received any mental health treatment.

The number of suicide calls from those who identify as Black have increased 19 percent this year, according to data from the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. Calls for mental health issues in general went up 25 percent among the same group.

Read more on TampaBay.com.