an admittance of weakness or can potentially contribute to negative stereotypes. Stigma discourages African Americans from seeking mental healthcare as a routine self-care practice. Resistance to care and distrust of practitioners is also the logical byproduct of a long history of discrimination and abuse against African Americans by the medical community.
These barriers make it all the more distressing that African American people who do seek treatment often cross paths with racist or ignorant practitioners. Many report experiencing discrimination and microaggressions by therapists. Culturally incompetent practitioners drastically reduce the effectiveness of treatment and discourage African Americans from continuing to seek care.
What needs to be done
An intervention in cultural competency is critical in an American healthcare system designed for white people, and for the most part, carried out by them. As Norissa Williams, clinical assistant professor for the online master’s in mental health counseling program, points out, prognosis criteria designed for white people can lead to misdiagnosis in people of color.
The article cites, for example, the fact that an African American man might experience anger as a symptom of depression because of societal stigma against showing sadness, even though the same disorder would present itself differently in a white man.
Some have suggested an increased representation of African Americans on the practitioner side as a solution. While this is undoubtedly a step in the right direction for better quality of mental healthcare for people of color, African Americans are vastly underrepresented in mental healthcare professions. Failing to address cultural competency among white practitioners while devoting efforts to increasing African American representation in the field will not solve the issue.
How change can occur
According to the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, adjusting accreditation standards to require more fluency in cultural competency can lead to improved care among practitioners. Other recommendations include