User:Mxf315/Obstacles to receiving mental health services among African American youth

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Clinician and therapeutic factors[edit]

Provider mistrust, therapists not checking in with the client for services, challenges obtaining the correct medication, mental health professionals not replying to the needs of their client, and prior negative experiences with mental health care were obstacles to African American children and adolescents looking for mental health services. When interviewing Black children and adolescents that were currently or formerly receiving mental health care, almost half (48%) questioned the effectiveness of treatment. In a survey of parents and primary caregivers of Black youth they reported that they believed treatment would not help. Another study revealed that Black parents thought that including mental health professionals in their personal affairs would ‘make everything worse’” (Murry et al., 2011, p. 1123). The fear of the adverse repercussions prevented some Black youth from seeking mental health services and African American mothers specifically had concerns around cultural mistrust. Black adolescents dealing with emotional distress were significantly more likely to be terrified of what a doctor might say compared to White adolescents. Additionally, studies have shown that the clinical presentation of signs and symptoms varies among African American teenagers.[1] Clinicians underdiagnosed depression in African Americans adolescents due to little education about variance in symptoms of depression that black youth express.[2] Research has shown African American youth are more likely to use stronger language to describe their symptoms of depression when compared to white youth.[3] This has led clinicians to misunderstand the choice of words African American youths use to describe depression as aggression and irritability and not hopelessness and sadness, causing an underdiagnosed in depression among African American adolescents.[4]

Religion/spirituality[edit]

A coping mechanism to help alleviate mental health issues can be having a relationship with God/a higher power, engaging in prayer, and being involved in spirituality. A study found that strict ideas and values in faith/religious based communities became an obstacle for Black youth from rural, urban, and suburban settings. Adolescent African Americans have been documented to be less likely to discuss depression with their provider due to religious reasons whereby they believe a higher-power protects them through adverse experiences and that it should not be discussed with their provider.[5]