Many people have likely sought out therapy sessions, whether it was for a mental health issue, stress from the pandemic, or simply to have someone to talk to.
We can all agree that having someone to talk to, especially when you're going through a difficult time, is important, and having a professional give you advice is well-needed. But for many women and people of color, they are unable to be given the same resource.
You may not know this, but more people of color are less likely to be able to have access to seeing a therapist.
According to the American Psychological Association, Black Americans are half as likely to use mental health services versus white people, and when they do, there are only four percent of U.S. psychologists and two percent of psychologists that are Black.
This means that for many people of color, it is hard to receive services not only for seeing a psychologist, but to also have a psychologist that is of the same race. It can be easier to have someone of the same race since they are able to understand cultural references and the patient's perspective better than someone who is not of the same race.
And with Black Americans only being half as likely to utilize services available to them for therapy, this means that many Black Americans are not receiving treatment that is needed.
Imagine how many Black Americans there are who may have a mental health disorder that is going untreated due to not utilizing services.
According to Mental Health America, 13.4 percent of Americans are identified as Black and 16 percent of those have reported having a mental health disorder. This includes only those who have been reported having a mental health disorder, so there is likely an even larger percentage that may have an undiagnosed mental health disorder.
With many African Americans who are unable to receive treatment, this can have an impact not only on their health, but also on others within their community or family.
In addition to this, when you take into account the impact on mental health due to the pandemic, this can cause more of a problem.
It's known that more people of color have died from COVID-19 than white people.
According to the Guardian, African Americans have died at a rate of 50.3 per 100,000 people, compared with 20.7 for whites, 22.9 for Latinos, and 22.7 for Asian Americans.
Therefore, with many Black Americans dying more from the pandemic, there is likely more stress caused by the virus. And when you also take account of the increase of stress, depression, and panic that has resulted from the pandemic, then the need for treatment is even more pressing.
Luckily, DRK Beauty has recently launched a fundraiser that will help provide mental health resources to people of color. According to DRK Beauty Healing, they have partnered up with the actress Cythia Erivo to begin a fundraising campaign to raise $500,000 in order to provide mental health resources to people of color.
Because of their campaign, clinicians around the country are volunteering to provide ten or more hours of free therapy to patients.
This can have a huge impact on people of color! There are many people of color who can finally see a therapist who is not only available to help, but also is of the same race.
This can also make a difference not only during this pressing time, but also in the future for any patient who is seeking someone of the same race that can help them receive the right treatment or to simply just have someone to talk to that can help.
