National Minority Mental Health Month: Ways To Raise Awareness

National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month generally takes place each July and offers an opportunity to raise awareness of the mental health concerns that can impact minority communities, as well as to advocate for accessible mental health care for all racial and ethnic groups. You might choose to share information on social media, encourage friends and loved ones to seek mental health care if needed, attend events focused on the mental health needs of minority groups, and speak out if you hear others sharing incorrect or biased information. To seek professional help with mental health or learn more about potential biases in the mental health care system, it can be beneficial to schedule a session with a licensed therapist online or in person.

About National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month

National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is celebrated each year in July. It was conceived by Bebe Moore Campbell, a co-founder of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). 

Campbell was also an author and journalist who wrote extensively about the impact of racism and mental illness on the physical health and social well-being of minority communities. She envisioned celebrating Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in her own local community and created a task force dedicated to promoting the concept and planning events related to minority mental health in Los Angeles every July.

Campbell died of brain cancer in 2006. In her honor, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to formally designate the month of July as the Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, allocating resources toward increasing awareness of mental health concerns experienced by minority groups and improving access to mental health care. 

The goals of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month are as follows:

• To promote public awareness of mental illness among underserved communities
• To improve access to mental health treatment and services for members of all racial and ethnic group

Mental health treatment, awareness, and access issues facing racial and ethnic minorities today

Members of racial and ethnic minority groups tend to demonstrate higher levels of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions than members of more privileged racial groups. 

Minorities may also experience higher levels of suicidal ideation. This increased likelihood of having mental health concerns could be due to experiences of racism, bias, discrimination, prejudice, rejection, or harassment, as well as instances of racial trauma, such as hate crimes and community displacement. 

According to NAMI, the racial group most likely to experience mental health conditions tends to be American Indians and Alaska Natives, with 28.3% of people identifying as Native reporting a mental illness diagnosis. 

This group is generally followed by 19.3% of white people, 18.6% of Black people, 16.3% of Hispanic and Latino people, and 13.9% of Asian and Pacific Islander people. However, it can be important to note that mental health conditions are often underdiagnosed in minority communities, so these statistics may not represent the full picture. 

Despite the higher levels of mental illness present in some minority communities, members of racial and ethnic minority groups can be less likely to seek or receive mental health treatment. Further research conducted by NAMI identified that 16.4% of white people typically use mental health services, compared to 15.7% of American Indian and Alaska Native people, 8.5% of Black people, 7.4% of Hispanic and Latino people, and 4.9% of Asian and Pacific Islander people. 

This discrepancy in accessing mental health care could occur for several reasons, potentially including the following:

• Barriers related to immigration status
• Economic conditions and the cost of accessing mental health care
• Education levels and knowledge around mental health concerns
• Lack of access to public health benefits
• Not having health insurance or being under-insured
• Difficulty finding health care providers who identify as members of one’s racial or ethnic group, and discomfort meeting with providers from different racial or ethnic groups (can be particularly true for people of color seeing white health care providers)
• Poorer quality of care available
• Higher levels of cultural stigma related to seeking mental health care or discussing mental health 
• An increased likelihood of receiving a misdiagnosis or no diagnosis at all
• Language barriers
• Experiences with a culturally insensitive health care system in the United States, or experiences with outright racism, bias, or discrimination in health care settings

Ways to raise awareness about minority mental health and support minority communities

One of the most effective ways to combat the discrepancy in minority mental health care could be to raise awareness about the gap in care, as well as mental health care concerns facing the minority community. You could help raise awareness through some of the following actions:

• Share accurate information about National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and related issues minority communities may experience on your social media platforms.
• Talk to your friends, family, and other loved ones about seeking mental health care when they need it, and about encouraging other people in their lives to do the same.
• Educate yourself about mental health concerns members of minority communities may experience, and then communicate what you learn to other people.
• Advocate for local politicians and campaigns who support improving health care access, and particularly mental health care access, for minority groups.
• Attend, host, or celebrate an event focused on the mental health needs and concerns of people in minority groups.
• Speak out when you see or hear other people communicate something related to minority mental health that is wrong, hurtful, biased, or plays into racist stereotypes.

Finding support for advocacy and inclusion efforts

Advocating against systemic biases in society can be emotionally and physically exhausting, whether you are a member of a racial and ethnic minority group yourself or are attempting to be an effective ally. Prioritizing your own mental health needs can be important in this kind of situation. Additionally, seeking mental health care can be a way of role-modeling self-care for other people in your community who may be more hesitant to engage with the health care system.

If you have had negative experiences of racism or bias in the past while interacting with mental health care providers, you may be hesitant to reach out to a local in-person therapy office, particularly if the providers do not share your racial or ethnic identity. Online therapy could be a helpful alternative in this scenario. 

Benefits of online therapy

With online mental health care services like BetterHelp, you can meet with your therapist from the comfort and convenience of your own home. In addition, during the initial screening process for selecting a therapist, you may be able to request a therapist with specific identity traits, such as a therapist who identifies as Black or a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Effectiveness of online therapy

Current research has demonstrated that online therapy may be just as effective as traditional in-person therapy, and it may be even more effective at connecting minority groups who may not have historically had access to mental health care to meaningful treatment options. 

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science indicated that therapy designed specifically to meet the needs of indigenous people and ethnic minorities typically had comparable outcomes when delivered remotely in comparison to being delivered in face-to-face settings. If you are running into barriers to accessing mental health care in your community, online therapy could be a beneficial option for you. 

Takeaway

National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is generally intended to educate society about the mental health concerns impacting minority communities, including lack of access to mental health care and experiences with racism and discrimination in health care settings. You do not need to confine your advocacy for minority mental health care to the month of July, however. Spending time with an online therapist could help you better understand the impact of systemic biases and ways to advocate for underserved populations.