Combating Poor Mental Health and Bad Access to Mental Healthcare in the

African American Community

Ashley Anderson
ETHS 2410
Social Issue Research Project
Spring 2015

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It is an unfortunate reality of life in the United States that African
American people are much more likely to suffer from mental health problems
that white people are. According to Mental Health America, adult blacks are
20 percent more likely to report serious psychological distress than adult
whites and are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and
worthlessness than are adult whites. Poor mental health also affects
adolescents and children within the African American community. Black
people are more likely to attempt suicide as teenagers, (African American
Communities and Mental Health). There are many reasons for this, which will
be discussed over the course of this paper. While addressing the specific
reasons that cause depression and other mental illness among African
Americans will take a large scale societal change that could require
generations, I wondered if it would be possible to provide mental health care
to black people in the United States much sooner than that, to allow them to
gain tools and methods for coping, as well as outlets for expressing
frustration or other feelings in a positive and effective manner.

Brainstorm Ideas for Intervention

When I became interested in the fact that African Americans are much
more likely to experience serious psychological distress than whites, I looked
up the reasons that this is so. Many of these reasons rest of systems of
oppression and the experience of day-to-day racism. Admittedly, these are
things that are hard to change in a lifetime, and the effects of these changes

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will be slow. However, this research is important because many people do
not know that it exists, or even that the social problem of poor mental health
in African American communities exists. By basing my intervention off of this
research, I hope to incorporate a campaign of education, which will motivate
people to donate to a cause that can have positive effects on the mental
health of black communities right here and right now.
When I was trying to figure out what would be the most helpful shortterm support, I also found out something else that was interesting. Within
the black community there are attitudes that many people see seeking help
as a sign of weakness. 63 percent of African Americans believe that
depression is a personal weakness, as opposed to the general population, of
which 54 percent believe that it is (African American Communities and
Mental Health). This means that many African American people are in denial
about the seriousness of their mental health problems, and therefore are not
motivated to seek any help. I want my intervention to change or help to
eliminate the stigma surrounding receiving access to mental heath. I believe
that if a greater number of the African American population begins to receive
counseling or therapy, then slowly the attitudes surrounding this treatment
and care will begin to change, helping people to change the cycle of poor
mental health in African American communities.
However, a major problem with my plan and thinking is that even the
people who do seek help do not always have access to it. African American
Communities and Mental Health provides a list of barriers to the treatment

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of depression cited by African Americans. These notably include lack of
money/insurance and lack knowledge of treatment/problem. I want to
create an intervention in which people without insurance and who might not
know about treatment will feel free to seek out treatment at no personal
cost. I think that this is important because what is good for the African
American community is good for the entire country. The country would not be
what it was if not for African Americans. It owes them a great debt.

Research Supporting Reason For Change

The Effects of Changes in Racial Identity and Self-Esteem on Changes
in African American Adolescents Mental Health, by Mandara, Richards, et al.
focuses on the correlation between the establishment of strong racial
identity and self-esteem in African American adolescents, and how that has
positive effects on their mental health.
The primary focus of this study was to assess the unique effect of
racial identity and self-esteem on the depressive and anxiety symptoms of
African American adolescents as they finished the 7th grade and moved into
the 8th grade. During the course of this study, the authors of this paper found
that racial identity and self-esteem were positively correlated for young men,
but not for young women. Self-esteem made a big impact on the lowering of
depressive symptoms for young men. An increase in racial identity was
associated with the decrease in depressive symptoms for both young men
and young women.

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Not only did the article present some ways that self-esteem and
positive mental health could be achieved under a specific segment of the
African American population, but it outlined important ways in which
adolescents were especially at risk for depressive symptoms. On page 1663,
the authors write specifically about the concept of internalizing the negative
stereotypes of ones race. This means that adolescents, among other groups
within larger communities of racial minorities, especially blacks, believe the
negative stereotypes of ones own race or ethnic group, and feel dislike for
other members of the group, or even for themselves. This produces
depression and anxiety, among others mental health problems. Teens are
exposed to the media even more than adults are, and TV shows and news
stories often show African-Americans according to negative stereotypes. For
this reason, it is very common for African-American adolescents to internalize
these stereotypes (1663).
Getting Mad But Ending Up Sad: The Mental Health Consequences for
African American Using Anger to Cope With Racism, by Chavella T. Pittman
says that there are many negative effects that greatly impact people as a
result of experiencing racism. According to the article, anger is a common
reaction to stressful life events, and the author wanted to find out if the use
of anger was an efficacious coping strategy for experiencing racism. Pittman
asked the questions, Is anger a coping strategy for racism that improves
mental health? Or does anger operate in an opposing way, deteriorating

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mental health? (1106). She found that using anger to cope with racial
discrimination caused psychological distress in African Americans.
Because it is very hard to stay positive in the face of racist attitudes, it
is very common for people to react with anger when they are experiencing
racism. To expect anything else of people would be to expect far too much.
Rather, it is the racist attitudes that need to change, not the response.
However, until the racist attitudes change (and who knows when that will
be?) African Americans will keep getting angry and keep suffering the mental
health consequences of their anger. This article gives a good reason why
African Americans are experiencing poor mental health as a group, and also
shows that there is seemingly little they can do to fix it. They are not the
ones being racist. Rather, they are being discriminated against, and
responding in a normal way: through anger. Because this will keep
happening, this article proves that it is essential that someone provide
access to mental health care for African Americans.
William B. Harveys 1984 paper, The Educational System and Black
Mental Health provides an important perspective on just how much African
American people have to put up with racist attitudes, even starting from a
young age. He says,While educational systems manifest themselves in such
a way as to clearly and distinctly reinforce the direction of a given culture,
cultural forces, in turn, exert an influence over the orientation and approach
of the educational system and the resultant psychological and emotion wellbeing of those persons who are acculturated through its structures. In

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America, racism is an entrenched part of the normative culture (444).
Because it is such an entrenched part of the normative culture, people have
to experience it every day at school, and they carry these experiences into
their adult lives. This has a serious negative effect on mental health for
African Americans.
This essay again serves to show just how much this intervention is
needed. Because everyone must go to school at some point in their lives, all
African Americans are put into a position where they are legally and social
obligated to compromise their mental health. This shows the scope of the
problem, and just how wide-reaching it is in the United States, proving that
there is a large segment of the population that needs access to healthcare.

Strategy For Addressing the Identified Issue

Based on the research I have conducted, I have determined that it is
essential that African Americans have access to mental healthcare. This way
they do not have to deal with the problems facing them, due to
institutionalized oppression and racism, alone. Rather, they would have
someone to talk to who could listen, provide them with tools to deal as much
as possible with their problems, teach them effective coping methods, and
prescribe medication when needed.
While it would be ideal if this project were large enough to encompass
the African American community of the entire United States of America,
unfortunately such an undertaking would not be economically feasible.

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Rather, this project must start on a smaller scale, in just one neighborhood of
Salt Lake City. The intervention must find people who are willing to volunteer,
people who are willing to donate money, and people who will be a good fit
for the work. Then, the African American residents of this neighborhood must
be informed of the opportunity that they have to access free mental
healthcare.

Outline of Intervention
This intervention will focus on the Central 9th neighborhood in Salt Lake
City. This is an important neighborhood to focus on because it is becoming
increasingly gentrified, and it is becoming more and more expensive for
lower-income people to live there. This means that people have less money
to spend on mental health care.
The intervention will require outreach to mental health professionals.
These professionals should be predominantly African American so that they
can provide culturally relevant support to the people who need it. This was
an insight I gained from the interview I conducted with Marissa Sieck, a social
worker who works with homeless youth and undocumented immigrants in El
Paso, Texas. Once these professionals are enlisted, then the process of
raising money can take off. When there is a place to meet, these
professionals can provide healthcare for free for every black resident of the
neighborhood for one year as a trial period for the project. This care will take
the form of one-on-one therapy sessions, as well as group therapy sessions.

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In order to make it known that this service is available, canvassers can go
door-to-door in the neighborhood to pass out pamphlets and talk to people
about the importance of good mental health, the unique challenges that face
the African American community, and the new resources that will be
available.

Costs for Intervention

The cost for the implementation of this program is the largest
roadblock. If my original idea was going to be implemented it would cost a
currently unrealistic amount. There are over 42 million people in the United
States who identify as black or mixed race. If each of them was able to see a
counselor once a week for a year, that would equal 2,187,000,000
counseling visits a year. If the average cost of a therapy session is $75 (How
Much Does Therapy Cost?), then that means that providing counseling for all
of these people would cost about $164 billion dollars a year. There would
also be costs for administration and websites. This is unfeasible, though in
my opinion it is totally necessary. However, instituting this program on a
smaller scale, say of 100 people in one neighborhood, would cost $390,000 a
year, which is much more feasible.

Resistance to Intervention
Resistance to this proposed intervention might come in several forms.
First of all, it might come from parents who are hesitant to let their children

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participate. In this case, it would be crucial to hold a meeting in which
parents and children could ask questions and receive information. This
meeting could be held at a church or other nearby community center. All of
the resistance to this intervention can be countered by education, which is
the reason that canvassers and a community meeting would be important.

Support for Intervention

There are many organizations in the area that could provide support
and Im sure would be happy to help. These include the LDS and Catholic
churches, as well as coalitions of social workers and therapists. There are
also many students who want to get involved and make a positive change in
the world and in their communities. They could be recruited for the
canvassing and fundraising positions that would be necessary.

Desired Outcome from the Intervention

The desired outcome from this intervention is to provide African
Americans with access to free mental healthcare in their community.
Because they would have access to this kind of care, they could improve
their mental health and learn skills and coping methods to keep helping
them in the future. From this point it would be important to follow up with
them, and conduct studies which would provide data necessary to secure
funding for this program to continue and increase in scale. The ultimate
desired outcome would be to narrow the gap, if even slightly, between the

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rates of suicide attempts, as well as the feelings of depression and anxiety,
that occur between European Americans and African Americans in the United
States.

Works Cited
"African American Communities and Mental Health." Mental Health America.
Mental Health
America. Web. 02 Apr. 2016.
Harvey, William B. "The Educational System and Black Mental Health." The
Journal of Negro
Education 53.4 (1984): 444. Web.
"How Much Does Therapy Cost?" Therapy Blog. Goodtherapy.org, 2014. Web.
02 Apr. 2016.
Mandara, Jelani, Noni K. Gaylord-Harden, Maryse H. Richards, and Brian L.
Ragsdale. "The
Effects of Changes in Racial Identity and Self-Esteem on Changes in
African American Adolescents Mental Health." Child Development 80.6
(2009): 1660-675. Jstor. Web.
Pittman, C. T. "Getting Mad But Ending Up Sad: The Mental Health
Consequences for African
Americans Using Anger to Cope With Racism." Journal of Black Studies
42.7 (2011): 1106-124. Web.