ORLANDO, Fla. – At least one in five people will experience a mental health condition in their lifetime. July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. On Breakfast With Bridgett, a licensed counselor addressed why greater awareness is needed.
Dr. Tresonda Baucom of Enriched Life Counseling & Consulting talked about the wider disparities and stigma around seeking and finding mental health care for people of color and other minority groups, making them less likely to receive referrals, proper care or diagnosis.
She also explained some of the neuroscience behind the generational impacts of trauma as well as the mind/body connections with mental health.
“So we have the lack of knowing which is why we want to increase awareness to what some of these struggles are and how they may show up in your life. And that there are options and what those options are, but we also have access to care, so being able to afford and being able to find a cultural, competent provider. So some of those are the barriers into receiving mental health care,” Baucom said.
Baucom also recommended The American Foundation For Suicide Prevention website - afsp.org - as a resource for finding diverse providers and support for minority groups.
Watch the full interview at the top of this story.
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