Most recent public comments by Madeleine Shetler https://nowcomment.com/users/105726 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2449046 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2449046 When conversations are more verbally dominated by the physician and less centered on the patient, there is a higher likelihood of misdiagnosis and misunderstanding. Citation: Johnson, R. L., Roter, D., Powe, N. R., & Cooper, L. A. (2004). Patient race/ethnicity and quality of patient-physician communication during medical visits. American journal of public health, 94(12), 2084–2090. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.94.12.2084 Tue, 27 Apr 2021 11:18:53 -0700 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2448282 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2448282 The infographic was strategically organized to be visually appealing, easy to read, and informational. We slowly built upon evidence to provide an understanding of the current racial disparities in mental health care. After establishing evidence for the existence of a disparity, we addressed deeper questions such as, “What are the long term health effects of racism on BIPOC?”, "Why do these disparities exist in the first place?", and "How can we help?" The organization of our project was an attempt to spark a call to action for our White readers, rather than activate a defensive or dismissive response. As Knowles et al. (2014) posits, White individuals can feel threatened by discussions of racial inequalities because it questions their “meritocratic” view of society. Specifically, many individuals will deny their White privilege or distance themselves from the White category in an attempt to validate their societal standing (Knowles et al., 2014). Rather than drafting our project in an accusatory tone, i.e. blaming disparities on racially biased White psychology professionals, we comprehensively discussed the existence of disparities before proposing the variable causes. The goal of our infographic is to inform and engage, so that, after learning about disparities, readers will begin to think about what they can do in their community to combat racial discrimination in mental health care. Citation: Knowles, E. D., Lowery, S. B., Chow M. R., Unzueta, M. M. (2014). Deny, Distance, or Dismantle? How White Americans Manage a Privileged Identity. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 9(6), 594–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691614554658 Mon, 26 Apr 2021 23:09:18 -0700 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2448188 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2448188 Countless psychological studies have found racial differences in the treatment and diagnosis of mental health disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and anorexia nervosa. One study in particular found that, in individuals already diagnosed with schizophrenia, Black Americans were more likely than White Americans to screen positive for depression (Gara et al., 2018). This finding is significant because it suggests that diagnoses of schizophrenia in Black individuals may actually be misdiagnoses, meaning that many Black individuals are not receiving the proper care to treat their mental illnesses. Historically, research has been conducted on different mental illnesses by White researchers for the treatment of white individuals. Therefore, many clinicians lack an understanding of the differential presentation of various mental illnesses in different cultural or racial groups (APA, 2017). It is vital to continue research on misdiagnoses and symptom presentation for diverse patient populations. Citations: American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2017). Mental Health Facts for African Americans. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/education/mental-health-facts Gara, M., Minsky, S., Silverstein, S., Miskimen, T., Strakowski, S. (2019). A Naturalistic Study of Racial Disparities in Diagnoses at an Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic. Psychiatric Services, 70(2), 130-134. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201800223 Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:20:20 -0700 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2448185 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2448185 Countless psychological studies have found racial differences in the treatment and diagnosis of mental health disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and anorexia nervosa. One study in particular found that, in individuals already diagnosed with schizophrenia, Black Americans were more likely than White Americans to screen positive for depression (Gara et al., 2018). This finding is significant because it suggests that diagnoses of schizophrenia in Black individuals may actually be misdiagnoses, meaning that many Black individuals are not receiving the proper care to treat their mental illnesses. Historically, the study of mental health illness and treatment has been conducted by White individuals for the treatment of White individuals. Therefore, many clinicians lack an understanding of the differential presentation of symptoms that may occur in different cultures and races (APA, 2017). Citations: American Psychiatric Association (APA).(2017). Mental Health Disparities: African Americans. https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/education/mental-health-facts Gara, M., Minsky, S., Silverstein, S., Miskimen, T., Strakowski, S. (2019). A Naturalistic Study of Racial Disparities in Diagnoses at an Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic. Psychiatric Services, 70(2), 130-134. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201800223 Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:12:34 -0700 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2447974 https://nowcomment.com/documents/271605?scroll_to=2447974 A very telling indication of the mental health disparities and lack of access is that only 33% of Black Americans are receiving the proper mental healthcare they need (SAMHSA, 2015). In college populations, this evidence gets bleaker, with only 25% of Black students and 33% of Asian students receiving the needed treatment for mental illness, as opposed to the 50% of White students (Lipson et al., 2018). Not only are fewer BIPOC individuals receiving treatment, research conduced on 33 university counseling centers at PWIs found that White students had better therapy outcomes than BIPOC students (Owen et al., 2021). Including statistics of mental health disparities on college campuses is intended to intrigue our intended audience of college students and focus the analysis of disparities to a specific age group. Citations: Lipson S. K., Kern A., Eisenberg D., Breland-Noble A. M. (2018). Mental Health Disparities Among College Students of Color. J Adolesc Health, 63(3), 348-356. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.04.014. PMID: 30237000. Owen, J., Coleman, J., Drinane, J., Tao, K., Imel, Z., Wampold, B., & Kopta, M. (2021). Psychotherapy racial/ethnic disparities in treatment outcomes: The role of university racial/ethnic composition. Journal of Counseling Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000548 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2015). Racial/Ethnic Differences in Mental Health Service Use among Adults. HHS, Publication No. SMA-15-4906. 1-44. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/MHServicesUseAmongAdults/MHServicesUseAmongAdults.pdf Mon, 26 Apr 2021 19:56:30 -0700