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Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity (A supplement to the Surgeon General’s first report on mental health)
(Beginning Level)
Developed by: This report was prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services under the direction of the Office of the Surgeon General, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, and in consultation with the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health.
18 Credit CE Course - $63 to complete post-test and receive 18 CE credits. Manual can be downloaded at no charge.
As was the case when Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General was released in 1999, Mental Health: Culture, Race, and Ethnicity expands upon the Surgeon General’s original report and explores the issues of race and ethnicity in mental health care. This supplemental report provides a historical and cultural context within which minority mental health may be better understood. It also examines the hardships endured and the strength, energy, and optimism of racial and ethnic minorities in their quest for good mental health.
This Supplement reports that very serious disparities exist regarding the mental health services delivered to racial and ethnic minorities.
To provide equal services to all individuals regardless of their ethnic group, cultural and historical context must be accounted for in designing, adapting, and implementing services and service delivery systems. Communities must ensure that prevention and treatment services are relevant, attractive, and effective for minority populations. As the field learns more about the meaning and effect of cultural competence, we will enrich our commitment to the delivery of evidence-based treatment, tailored to the cultural needs of consumers and families.
Not only does this Supplement provide us with a framework for better understanding scientific evidence and its implications for eliminating disparities, it also reinforces a major finding of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. That is, it shows how stigma and shame deter many Americans, including racial and ethnic minorities, from seeking treatment.
Download and read this manual at no charge.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
- To understand the nature and extent of mental health disparities affecting racial and ethnic minorities.
- To learn about the promising directions toward the elimination of these disparities.
- To understand how stigma and shame deter many Americans from seeking treatment and the ongoing efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness.
- To understand the importance of preventative mental health care.
- To learn about the various agencies available to help ethnic and racial minorities navigate the mental health services available.
- Understand the important role that cultural factors play in mental health and illness.
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