Mental Health Challenges Facing African American …

1 Mental Health Challenges FacingAfrican American Youth in UrbanCommunitiesPresented byLaverne S. Williams, CSWD irector of the PEWS (Promoting EmotionalWellness & Spirituality) ProgramMission StatementThe Mental Health Associationin New Jersey strives forchildren and adults to achievemental Health through advocacy,education, training and & Common Misconceptions of To Challenges Facing Black Communications to Counter Key Principles of ResilienceProgram ObjectivesProgram ObjectivesParticipants will be able Stressors Unique to African Barriers to Seeking Oral Communications to CounterArguments Against Mental Health Knowledge of Resiliency Concepts forUrban YouthIn April 2002, President Bushestablished the President s New FreedomCommission on Mental Health toeliminate inequalities in Mental analyzing both the public andprivate Mental Health systems, theCommission released its final report: Achieving the Promise, TransformingMental Health Care in America whichrevealed.

2 FoundationAlthough racial and ethnic minorityAmericans are growing at a rapid rate,the Mental Health system has not keptpace with their diverse needs, oftenunder-serving or inappropriatelyserving also has not integrated respect andunderstanding of the histories,traditions, beliefs, languages and valuesystem of culturally diverse efforts to improve services forculturally diverse populations arecurrently underway, significant barriersstill remain. As a result, AmericanIndians, Alaska Natives, AfricanAmericans, Asian Americans, Hispanics,Muslims and Pacific Islanders, have adisproportionately high burden ofdisability from Mental HelpDr. David Satcher, the first MaleAfrican American SurgeonGeneral stated: Every person, regardless of race or ethnicity,should seek help if they have a Mental healthproblem or symptoms of a Mental disorder. ( Department of Health and Human Services, 1996)Video ClipyYouTube - "Driving While Black"True or False:Experiencing an emotional problem as aphysical symptom is more commonamong communities of color thanamong !

3 Communities of color are more likely toexperience Mental illness as physicalsymptoms. (Somatization)True or False:Young AfricanAmerican men have alower rate of suicidethan white !ySuicide rates for young black menare as high as those for youngwhite 1980 - 1995, the suicide rateamong African Americans ages 10to 14 increased by 233%.(NMHA survey, 1996)True or False:Getting tough with juvenileoffenders by trying them inadult criminal courtsreduces the likelihood thatthey will commit !Youths transferred to adult criminalcourt have significantly higher rates ofre-offending and a greater likelihood ofcommitting subsequent felonies thanyouths who remain in the juvenilejustice likely to be victimized physically& sexuallyTrue or False:In the 1990s, school violenceaffected mostly whitestudents or students whoattended suburban or ! African - American and Hispanic malesattending large inner-city schools thatserve very poor neighborhoods faced and still face the greatest risk ofbecoming victims or perpetrators of aviolent act at school.

4 (This is true despite the recent series of multiple shootings insuburban, middle-class white schools.)Common MisconceptionsyMost people with Mental illness are is a normal part of the aging processyI have a great family and supportive friends Idon t need to talk to a I seek Mental Health treatment, they re just goingto give me some pills to takeyPsychiatrists are only in it for the moneyVideoMoving Beyond SurvivalMode:(Promoting Mental Wellness and Resiliency as aWay to Cope with Urban TraumaMee ProductionsStress & Trauma Domestic Violence SingleParentingStatisticsStatisticsyThe average annual violent crime rate in urbanareas is 74% higher than the rural crime rate and34% higher than suburban American males are the mainperpetrators and victims of violence in urbanareas and have the highest risk for being victimsof andmisinterpreting behaviors have led totragic consequences, includinginappropriately placing minorities inthe criminal and juvenile percent of low-income African - American youth have witnessed a murder and56% have witnessed a a survey of urban elementary and high schoolstudents and almost half reported being directlyvictimized; 75% reported witnessing a robbery,stabbing shooting or ,035 African Americans ages 10-19 weresurveyed.)

5 75% witnessed a violent act and been a victim of a study of children in Head Start, 57% of thestudent s parents stated that their childwitnessed mild levels of violence and 8%witnessed severe levels of violence. However,when the students were surveyed, 37% reportedbeing a witness to severe To CareAccess To CareAccording to the National Institute ofMental Health , these and other diversecommunities are underserved by thenation s Mental Health system. One out ofthree African Americans who need mentalhealth care receives it. Compared to thegeneral population, African Americans aremore likely to stop treatment early and areless likely to receive follow-up to TreatmentBarriers to Seeking Treatment Denial Embarrassment/shame Don t want/refuse help Lack money/insurance Fear Lack Knowledge oftreatment/problem HopelessnessBarriers to Seeking TreatmentyProvider may not understand thecultureyDon t know where to goyChild careyLocation/hours of serviceyTransportationySymptoms are often masked withsubstance abuse or other on our religious communities todeal with emotional to Seeking Treatment(continued)Resistance to seekingmental Health caresometimes comes from asense of loyalty to familymembers who have gone onbefore to Seeking Treatment(continued)

6 YCommunities of color frequently seek help inprimary care, as opposed to Mental healthspecialty care and often receive mentalhealth care in emergency rooms and inpsychiatric are overrepresented in these settingspartly because we delay seeking treatmentuntil our symptoms are more to Seeking Treatment(continued)Video Clip Moving BeyondSurvival Mode (Domestic Violence/Single Parenting)Using Oral Communications toCounter ArgumentsORALyImportant Info is passeddown through storiesyReceiver can askquestions or challenge amessageySender gets immediatefeedback (verbally or non-verballyyLet me know what youthinkLiterate-Based Important Info is passeddown through writing Receiver has noopportunityySender could have noidea how message isbeing receivedy Take it or leave it Oral Communications (cont d)ArgumentyI don t need help. I m don t want somebodyanalyzing me/getting intomy headyI ve got too much otherstuff in my life that is moreimportantCounter-Argument Even the strongest personneeds to lean onsomebody sometimes The answers are in counselor can help youfind them.)

7 Isn t your mentalwellness (keeping yourmind right) worth it?Oral Communications (cont d)If you really want a Mental wellnessmessage to resonate with youraudience, it need to be both reflectand respect the culture, style andlanguage of that most effective way to reflect andrespect an audience is to engage it indeveloping the Communications (cont d)ArgumentyI don t want my businessin the streetyI don t want to be labeledas slow , weak , crazy or having a problemyI don t want to beconsidered weak. Peopletake advantage of can take a drink orsmoke some weed andmy problems won t bothermeCounter-Argument All Mental Health servicesare confidential I m not going to judge m here for you. You don t have to handleeverything on your own Drop the weed andalcohol and talk to someinsteadOral Communications (cont d)ArgumentyI don t trust White peopleyBlack people cantake/deal with almostanything. Look at whatwe ve m on top of my gameCounter-Argument Not all Mental wellnessprofessional are trust issues isthe first step to goodtherapy.

8 It s time to break thecycle. We don t have tokeep handling things thesame (negative) way. Even the toughest soldierneeds a shoulder to ChallengesFacing Black YouthsyIdentityyIntimacyyCoping with RacismyFinding A Source ofStrengthIdentityIn black communities, constant questions are:yHow can I be powerfulyStrongyRespectedIn the world of other adults?Respect is hugely important to the black communityand you should be aware of the seriousness of dissing to racism, many feel they do not get the respectthey felt they deserved or are unable to let theirguard down and rest. yHarvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of thenation's pre-eminent African - American scholars, wasarrested July 2009 at his home by Cambridge policeinvestigating a possible people have dreams. The problem in Americawhere there is a history of racism the question, iscan you find a pathway to that dream?The black community is filled with broken on the corner had a dreamBrothers and sisters in jail had a dream those dreams got snuffed must empower communities of color to achievethose the cradle to the grave is the human need to beconnected and nurtured next to the mother s life s end is near and the machine has flat lined,what do doctors tell you to do?

9 The human need for intimacy is satisfied in fourrelationships as persons of color moves through thelife FamilyyMale PeersySpecial Romantic RelationsyMentorsIntimacyThe high amount of single parent homes makes itdifficult to nurture children into emotionally particular, male children need HANDS ON malementors for male guidance is not provided, it will be found ingangs or other of RacismyNegative Coping BehaviorsySelf-medicatingyActing OutyDenialyInternalizationFinding Sources of StrengthThere are seven AfricanAmerican psychologicalstrengths that have carried us400+ years in this foreignland:Sources of StrengthyImprovisationyResilienceyConnec tedness to OthersySpiritualityyEmotional VitalityyGallows Sense of HumoryHealthy Suspicion of Persons Who Don tLook Like UsVideoMoving Beyond SurvivalMode:Promoting PsychologicalStrengths and Protective FactorsImprovisationWhen you live in a country which has a history of notgiving you an equal range of choices, you have toimprovise.

10 You have to be imaginative, creative andinnovative .Gladys Knight said it best with I ve got to use myimagination to make the best of a bad situation andkeep on keeping on!With 10 people to feed and a stay at home Mother, sheknow improvisation!ResilienceThe ability to recover from a folks in the black community will not go from 0 70 without a setback. Failure and defeat is built question is can you get back up after a setback andkeep on keeping on?The goal is to heal and become stronger in the brokenplaces (learning from the experience)Spirituality/Soul PowerBelief that there is a life affirming force whichpermeates the universe that gives meaning andinspiration to all slavery we always believed we would bedelivered. We d walk around out churches withdrums beating shouting and crying but soon thosetears would turn to shouts of joy!EMOTIONALWELLNESSSPIRITUALWELLNESSS piritual Wellness &Emotional WellnessA Greater Sense of WellbeingSPIRITUALWELLNESSEMOTIONALWELLN ESSE motional VitalityCheck out a dance club!