Prioritizing Minority Mental Health: A comprehensive guide for organizations, universities and individuals
Contents
Introduction
Why is it important to focus on minority mental health, specifically?
How allies can support minority mental health
How organizations can support minority mental health
How healthcare providers can support minority mental health
How universities can support minority mental health
What minority individuals can do to promote mental wellbeing
Over the last decade, the importance of mental health has made itself clear and become the focus of many wellbeing initiatives. Challenges like loneliness, confidence, and self-criticism can affect all of us, and the general public is seeing more efforts to address stress, anxiety, and depression broadly. However, the minority experience of mental health is far less discussed.
Who is considered a minority in the US? According to the US Census, nearly 40% of Americans identify as a visible minority and more than half of the nation’s population under 16 identify as a racial or ethnic minority. A person who is a racial or ethnic minority is defined as someone whose race or ethnicity is a non-dominant race within a group. In the United States, this includes Native Americans, Hispanic and Latinx, African Americans, Asians, Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, and those of two or more races.
Therefore, in honor of Minority Mental Health Month this July, we’re sharing this guide to taking an inclusive and effective approach to mental health for minorities. Whether you’re an individual looking to be a dependable ally to a friend, an organization seeking to strengthen your inclusivity, or a staff member at a university looking to improve the support you offer minority students, we’ve got you covered.
Why is it important to focus on minority mental health, specifically?
Historically, research in the field of mental health hasn’t taken into account the minority experience, resulting in a knowledge gap regarding the unique mental health needs of minority groups. For example, less than 2% of patients who participated in clinical trials from 2015-2019 were Asian despite representing 6% of the population, according to census data at that time. Similarly, an audit of Asian representation in medical research studies showed there was only an average of 3.8% Asian patients per study. In turn, psychological theories, diagnostic criteria and treatment modalities often fall short in considering cultural differences and the specific stressors faced by minority communities.
The minority stress model outlines how minority groups experience more chronic stress due to being marginalized. Repeated exposure to discrimination, prejudice, and social exclusion affect mental health problems like anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and can lead to “racial battle fatigue” – the cumulative effect of daily microaggressions and overt racism. That’s not to mention unique difficulties for immigrants like acculturative stress and the pressure to assimilate while maintaining their cultural heritage and identity.
Equally, minority communities often face more accessibility issues to mental health care, including financial barriers, geographical obstacles and/or simply systemic inequities. For example, many minority communities live with fewer mental health providers, leading to longer wait times, limited choice of providers, and fundamentally less efficient and effective care. That’s not to mention that insurance coverage can also limit mental health service, disproportionately affecting minorities who are more likely to be underinsured or uninsured.
In order to bring more nuanced and effective approaches to mental health to the table, it’s important that we acknowledge the differences in our experiences and seek to understand how we can best support each other.
How allies can support minority mental health
Learn about the minority experience
One of the simplest ways you can do your part to work towards mental health equality for all is to commit to learning about the minority experience, so you can better understand and support your friends, colleagues, and wider community. Thankfully, in this digital age you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips to dive into the experience of minority communities.
The publishers at Penguin Random House have put together a comprehensive list of books to help you understand the Asian American experience. If podcasts are more your thing, checkout Asian American History 101 is an educational and enjoyable listen, run by a father daughter duo. With your interest piqued, you may find you want to dive into broader topics that infiltrate the minority experience, such as systemic racism, the impact of colonialism, and the ongoing socio-economic challenges faced by minority groups.
You can also watch movies that share stories which challenge classic stereotypes and norms – you have more to choose from than ever, since Asian representation in media is diversifying and increasing, and Asian actors are less likely to be type casted as the “nerdy, obedient side-kick.” Some recent award-winning favorites include Everything Everywhere All At Once, Beef, Never Have I Ever or Minari. For unconventional movies, Blue Bayou is about a Korean adoptee raised in the deep south who is facing deportation and struggling to make ends meet. If you prefer documentaries, you can watch Who Killed Vincent Chin or American Factory.
You can also look for cultural events and community activities that can offer a firsthand way to immerse yourself in different cultures and experience deeper insight into the traditions of minority groups. For example, the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce includes an annual schedule of major holidays and celebrations, while the Asian American Arts Alliance has a robust calendar of events
Finally, stay curious about what your friends from minority backgrounds have been through. While it can be a big ask to request that they explain to you their experience of oppression or prejudice in society (it’s probably better to take the initiative to educate yourself on these broader topics), it goes a long way to be open-minded and show interest in understanding their unique experience without making assumptions, and being their to support them through it.
2. Reflect on implicit bias and microaggression
An important part of being a supportive ally is considering the ways that prejudice and bias may have made their way into your mentality or behavior, even if totally subconsciously. Sometimes we can take on subtle, unintentional discriminatory beliefs or actions, and realizing the way these things can be hurtful helps us to understand the impact on minority groups, and be more intentional about the words we use. You can take the Harvard Implicit Association Test to test your own unconscious beliefs and associations.
There are plenty of online resources as well as IRL workshops that can help you identify and address implicit bias in yourself, your workplace and wider community to help reduce microaggressions in everyday interactions. By being well-informed, you can share more accurate and respectful information about minority communities when you notice stereotypes or disrespectful behavior being perpetuated by yourself or others.
How organizations can support minority mental health
Host cultural competence workshops
As an organization looking to take an inclusive approach to wellbeing, cultural competence training workshops are a proactive step you can take to create a workplace of equality and understanding.
At Anise Health, we provide psychoeducational webinars, interactive workshops, group trainings, and intimate support groups, all led by our licensed mental health providers to help your organization demonstrate its commitment to minority mental health.
We create a bespoke experience in collaboration with your organization in order to foster connection in your team, encourage inclusivity and self-reflection, and make your workplace a more understanding place where everyone can thrive authentically.
As thought leaders in culturally-responsive mental healthcare for the Asian community, we offer a diverse array of topics in our cultural competence workshops, such as:
Understanding and navigating perfectionism
Exploring your intersectional identities
Burnout prevention bootcamp
Destigmatizing mental health in communities of color and more.
2. Ensure mental health resources are widely accessible
When reviewing mental health materials and resources, be sure to tailor the content to be culturally and linguistically sensitive. This could mean using more inclusive verbiage, considering cultural nuances in communication styles, and/or translating materials into relevant languages for your workforce. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Minority Health has published resource guides in many languages to advance equity for AANHPI communities (including Simplified Chinese, Hawaiian, Korean, Marshallese, Samoan, and Vietnamese). Specifically, the OMH has a community engagement guide, data disaggregation guide, and language access guide that you can reference when tailoring content to be culturally-informed.
An easy place to start is using straightforward language that’s easily understood by a broad range of people from various educational and cultural backgrounds, to be sure that mental health information is accessible to all employees.
In addition, your organization could compile free and low-cost mental health resources available to your employees, such as local clinics, culturally competent virtual mental health care, and peer support groups for minorities.
How healthcare providers can support minority mental health
Create culturally competent mental health programs
When you’re developing your mental health services, be sure to consider the cultural, historical, and social context that impact minority groups. Broaden your field of research to include studies that consider the nuances of the minority experience. For example, it has been shown that Asian communities are more likely to present with physiological symptoms of anxiety and depression than psychological ones. Casting a wide research net to shape your programs will help you develop culturally responsive therapeutic approaches to make your mental health services more accessible and effective to minorities. In turn, share resources and guidelines with your providers to ensure professional development and improve patient care across your organization.
One of the best ways to ensure you’re providing inclusive mental health care for minorities is to include them in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of your programs. Do your best to form advisory boards with members of various minority groups who can provide first-hand insight into their experience of and desires for mental health care, and help you shape programs that address specific cultural and community needs. The best mental health programs are shaped not only by theoretical concepts around culturally competent care, but by constantly and consistently incorporating feedback from the community themselves.
2. Provide culturally competent care workshops
As healthcare providers, your focus is on providing high quality care to clients. By hosting culturally competent care workshops, you can make sure your care models and approaches are up to date so that you can deliver this for those who are underserved, too. Topics could include how to communicate effectively with diverse populations, understanding variations in mental health symptoms across cultures, and how to tailor treatments to cultural context.
Pictured above: example of a framework described during a training about socioculturally-attuned healthcare
Anise’s culturally competent workshops are based on our culturally-responsive care model to help you navigate your patients’ behaviors in their cultural context, so that you can achieve better outcomes. Research shows that culturally-adapted interventions are 4.7x more effective than conventional or unadapted care.
How universities can support minority mental health
Representative boards and committees
As an institution seeking to prioritize inclusivity and mental wellbeing for all, it’s important to involve minority groups in your decision making process. Establish committees that include members of diverse cultural backgrounds so that all university offerings, from fundamental services through to campus events and initiatives are inclusive and reflect the richness of your student body.
A good motto to have in mind is “no decisions about them without them” – when making decisions that will impact your student body, make sure a representative selection is on hand to put forward the perspectives and experiences of your whole community to ensure that their needs are met and foster a sense of ownership and inclusion. Student organizations, councils, and focus groups can provide valuable input on mental health initiatives and other campus activities.
2. Inclusive Events
Universities should celebrate a wide range of cultural events and holidays, going beyond the most widely-known celebrations to include observances that are important to minority students. In addition to celebrating Christmas and Hannukah, for example, colleges can make an effort to celebrate and educate around Diwali, Lunar New Year, Nowruz, and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. A concerted effort can also be made to mark notable months like Black History Month, Native American Heritage Month and AAPI Heritage Month, hosting educational and engaging events that take the educational environment beyond the U.S. or Euro-Centric perspective that is often dominant.
Proactively bringing minority traditions to the forefront not only makes our communities feel acknowledged and respected, but also provides an opportunity to enrich the campus culture and help the entire student body develop a broader cultural awareness and a curiosity and understanding around one anothers’ heritage.
What minority individuals can do to promote mental wellbeing
Develop language and understanding around your own experience
Developing a big picture understanding of your experience is crucial in addressing your mental health concerns as a minority. Start off by learning about the shared minority experience by diving into concepts like intersectionality and the minority stress model. You’ll find that many common themes emerge amongst our experiences as minorities, and this can help you feel seen and validated, as well as give you hope that there is a way for us all to thrive.
For example, you’ll notice that the research shows that in many Asian-American households, discussing feelings and mental well-being is not common and can be dismissed or stigmatized. This cultural norm can make it challenging to develop emotional fluency and the language needed to identify and express your feelings. However, you can find the support and community you are looking for in the form of peer support groups! This is an opportunity to exchange with similar backgrounds and challenges to you, and to help each other find solutions together.
2. Build skills and tools to support yourself
Having contextualized your experiences and developed a deeper understanding of your mental health situation as a minority, you can then begin to develop skills and tools that are tailored to you. There are several fantastic resources available online, such as this guide to BIPOC mental health from Mental Health America, and the Anise Blog.
If you’re seeking further support from a professional, a culturally competent model of care is essential for minority mental health. This means working with mental health professionals who understand and respect your cultural background, and have been trained in the approaches and modalities to which you may be the most receptive. This type of care has been proven to have better outcomes for minorities, and can help you have a more rewarding mental health journey.
At Anise, we provide culturally competent care that blends therapy with coaching for the best results. Sign up for our waitlist today - we look forward to having you!
