Individual Counseling Is Available During Minority Mental Health Awareness Month And Beyond

Individual counseling is available at Take Charge in Johnson County, KS for anyone experiencing a mental health condition. Anyone can experience mental illness regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Background and identity can create several roadblocks to mental health treatment, however. Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month was established to change this.

In 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives proclaimed July to be Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Campbell was a champion for mental health education and support among diverse communities. A leading African American author, she was also a co-founder of NAMI Urban Los Angeles.

The Stigma Of Minority Mental Health

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition, many without the benefit of individual counseling. It is important to understand how culture, race, and background impact people’s mental health. In many communities, these problems are compounded by less access to care, lower-quality care, and cultural stigma. 

“Stigma is one of the main reasons why people with mental health problems don’t seek treatment or take their medication. People of color, particularly African-Americans, feel the stigma more keenly. In a race-conscious society, some don’t want to be perceived as having yet another deficit.” -Bebe Moore Campbell

Minority Mental Health Facts

Mental illness affects 18% of Hispanic/Latinx adults. Only 1 in 3 Black Americans who need mental health care receives it. Multiracial U.S. adults are more likely to experience mental illness than adults who identify as any single race. A person of color is also more likely to be incarcerated than have their mental health condition identified, and once incarcerated, they are even less likely to receive mental health care. 

LGBTQ adults are twice as likely as heterosexual adults to experience a mental illness, and more than 3x as likely to experience a serious mental illness. LGBTQ individuals may have less social support than heterosexual individuals, particularly if they have experienced rejection by their families. Bisexual people may feel especially isolated, experiencing stigma both in society-at-large and within the LGBTQ community. Individual counseling is especially important to support them.

LGBTQ high school students are more than twice as likely to report a two-week period of depressive symptoms than their heterosexual classmates. In the past year, nearly half of them have seriously considered suicide, and one in four have attempted it. In fact, LGBTQ youth are 4x more likely to attempt suicide than straight youth. Luckily, individual counseling has been shown to reduce risk in suicidal youth.

Individual Counseling Can Help

Taking on the challenges of mental health conditions, health coverage, and the stigma of mental illness requires all of us. No one should feel alone or without the support and help they need. 

For more information about individual counseling and trauma-informed therapy in Overland Park, KS, call Take Charge, Inc. at (913) 239-8255. To schedule an appointment, click here.