Research shows Kentuckians of color are at higher risk of experiencing traumatic stressful events, which sometimes can result in symptoms related to depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Mental health treatment addressing race is lacking, and experts said during BIPOC Mental Health Month, also known as Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, it is important to focus on building advocacy skills and increasing awareness.
Dr. Steven Kniffey, senior associate dean, and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati, and past-president of the Kentucky Psychological Association, explained potential BIPOC patients seeking help related to racial trauma often run into roadblocks.
“There’s more white folks that are available to provide therapy,” Kniffey pointed out. “But they’re not skilled in the ways that are needed to provide the support that our Black and brown folks need from a mental-health standpoint.”
Mental Health America’s online toolkit can help BIPOC individuals find the right mental health care. Online mental health screenings are also available at mhascreening.org. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
Kniffey added race-based therapy can help adults and teens develop skills for navigating microaggressions and create space for processing racially traumatic events.
“Having those spaces to process race-based trauma, because oftentimes, the traditional therapy does not allow that space to exist,” Kniffey noted. “We want to create a more meaningful space for folks to do that.”
In 2015, 86% of psychologists in the U.S. workforce identified as white, and just 4% as Black or African American, according to the American Psychological Association.
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Assessments continue following the first anniversary of 988, the new version of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
In a state with a higher suicide rate, those behind South Dakota’s operation see promise amid broader access issues. In July of last year, the lifeline switched from its 10-digit number to the easier-to-remember three digits.
Nationally, there were 5 million requests for help in the first year.
Janet Kittams, CEO of the 211 Helpline Center, said statewide, they saw a 130% increase in calls and texts to 988. She added more of the calls were non-crisis, an encouraging sign people are seeking help when symptoms first emerge.
“We’d much rather talk to people on the front end of a mental health or behavioral health issue,” Kittams emphasized. “As opposed to the point when they’re in very deep crisis.”
Like other states, Kittams acknowledged they face staffing pressures in finding enough trained counselors to take calls. But she pointed out they have still been able to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and additional funds from the state this year will help. However, with a shortage of clinical providers still prominent, it can take someone several weeks to see a local specialist after their initial call to 988.
Kittams noted in those situations, they do their best to make sure the person who called feels supported while they wait for their appointment.
“If somebody calls us on 988, we’re going to offer to call them back within the next day to check in with them and see how they’re doing,” Kittams explained. “And then we’re going to continue to offer to call back over the next four weeks to try to touch base to make sure they’re still stable, that they’re not in crisis.”
When the switch happened, some advocates worried it would lead to more responses from law enforcement, potentially leading to involuntary treatment or standoff situations. But Kittams countered they have been proactive in getting cooperation from police agencies to ensure 988 counselors lead the calls and avoid those scenarios.
“Ninety-five percent of the time, we’re able to de-escalate, stabilize that caller,” Kittams reported. “And so, we don’t have to require a dispatch.”
And in cases where police are called, law enforcement in nearly two dozen South Dakota counties have access to virtual crisis assistance to help deescalate.
It is meant for rural areas without a mobile crisis response team. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show South Dakota has the fifth-highest suicide rate in the U.S.
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Community groups in Massachusetts are calling for an end to armed police response to mental health-related 911 calls.
The majority of calls are for nonviolent emergencies, yet the response of armed police can often make a behavioral or mental health-related crisis worse, particularly in marginalized communities.
Corinne Espinoza, co-director of the Cambridge Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team, said civilian first responders are better trained to deescalate what is often someone having a bad day.
“They might need someone to respond gently, to speak softly, to stand further away from them so that they feel comfortable until some trust has been built,” Espinoza explained.
Rather than arrest someone in crisis, Espinoza pointed out civilian responders could help ensure people remain in their communities and create a plan for care. Her group is backing legislation to establish a grant program to increase the availability of unarmed community responders, in an effort to free up police for other emergencies and ultimately save lives.
Sayed Faisal, a 20-year-old student in Boston was in distress and self-harming earlier this year when a neighbor called 911. Police say Faisal lunged at them with a knife. Espinoza said he was chased, shot and killed – when it could have gone differently.
“Someone could have offered him a blanket, cup of coffee,” Espinoza suggested. “Was there another place that he would like to go? Was there some way that we could make him feel better in this moment?”
Espinoza added her team members work with residents mostly through word of mouth, and will soon launch a help hotline for people in distress. The Cambridge City Council has passed a policy order to increase funding for their services, but Espinoza noted they are not responding to 911 calls just yet.
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A free 12-week program is aiming to help Hispanic youths and their families in the Vegas Valley achieve better mental health. Familia Adelante, or Family Forward, is helping families find useful and beneficial mental-health strategies to help their children grapple with mental distress.
Margarita Romano, founder and head therapist of Fuente De Vida, said the program is centered on not only facilitating a safe space to talk, but being able to do so in Spanish or English. Romano said mental health is in what she calls “a crisis,” especially for minority groups such as Hispanics.
“In the Hispanic culture, it is very difficult,” she said. “The parents don’t speak the language, the English language, and some of the children don’t feel comfortable expressing it in Spanish. So inside the family it is already a barrier, in the language barrier.”
Romano added for many Hispanic families, stigma surrounding mental health can inhibit finding necessary care. According to Mental Health America depressive episodes increased from just over 12% to 15% in Latinx-Hispanic youths ages 12 to 17 between 2015 and 2018. Hispanic adults and youths are more susceptible to mental distress relating to immigration and acculturation, the group added.
Romano said the program is best suited for bilingual Hispanic families with at-risk youths between the ages of 10 and 15 and added those who have experienced difficulty in learning, have mild behavioral problems or are not fully aware of how to deal with their emotions, would greatly benefit from the intervention-style program.
“Sometimes we still have that mental-health stigma, that we think everyone that goes to a professional therapist is crazy or ‘that is not for me,’ or ‘it is too expensive.’ So we need to break those barriers and understand that we all need help,” she explained.
Romano said people who are interested in the free program can contact Fuente de Vida Mental Health Services to learn more, and added her organization is aiming to have the program up and running by March 20th of next year.
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