(The Dallas Examiner) – Black adults made an average of 97 visits for every 1,000 visits to emergency rooms for mental health issues – much higher than White adults at 54 visits and Hispanic adults at 36 visits, according to a 2023 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disparity has alarmed mental health professionals, especially considering that as few as 1 in 3 Black adults said they have received mental health treatment.
The study has brough attention to what has prevented the Black community from seeking more assistance. It has been suggested that the answer may lie in a lack of representation in the places where vulnerability is necessary.
Amber Williams is a third-year clinician trainee through the University of North Texas’ doctoral psychology program. She will soon join the scarce number of Black mental health professionals in the state of Texas, recognizing the need for sustained support throughout training programs.
“It’s a whole pipeline,” Williams said. “It’s not just about people applying to these programs but maintaining them as well.”
African Americans make up 3.5 million of Texas’ 31 million residents, and yet the representation of Black mental health professionals significantly lags.
In 2022, there were 68,300 registered mental health professionals in the state with only 9,100 of them identifying as Black, as reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services. A similar trend can be seen nationwide as only 4% of psychologists identify as Black, according to a 2022 report from the Association of Black Psychologists.
Although there has been a gradual increase in Black professionals, a lack of representation still exists. William’s journey illustrates the broader issue – the pressing need for increased acceptance and visibility of mental health within the Black community to strengthen this pipeline. Studies consistently show that clients are more open to receiving care when their counselors come from similar backgrounds.
Dr. Taylor Dyson, a mental health professional, attributes the historical mistrust of medical professionals to the hesitancy of seeking out mental health care.
“There’s still the objective of trust – African Americans will go back to the Tuskegee experiments and the malpractice that took place when it comes to [trusting] White professionals,” Dyson said.
The Tuskegee experiments, spanned over 40 years beginning 1932, were a series of syphilis research experiments. The objective was to observe the natural progression of untreated syphilis. Black male participants were used in the study but were deliberately misled, believing they were receiving care for “bad blood,” were instead being injected with syphilis. As one of the most infamous cases of racial medical abuse in the country, it instilled a distrust of medical professionals, especially within the Black community.
To foster trust with all clients, Dyson advocates for an increase in cultural competence, defined by the American Psychological Association as the ability to understand, appreciate and interact with people from different cultural belief systems. It’s through these practices that professionals can foster a culture of openness in a community that may lack exposure.
She said that her interest in mental health care began with the discovery of her grandmother’s schizophrenia. Despite her family’s efforts to keep it a secret, her discovery highlighted an imperative need for Black representation in the field.
“I think finding a Black therapist is a luxury because of our shortage,” Dyson said. “I know that if my grandmother wasn’t schizophrenic, [mental health] wouldn’t be something I knew about.”
Dr. Stacia Alexander, a licensed professional counselor and clinical director at Paul Quinn College’s Mental Health and Wellness Center, has emphasized the necessity of representation in mental health care at the historically Black college.
She said it was always the college’s vision to incorporate mental health into the overall collegiate experience so students would be more open to receiving help even after they leave Paul Quinn. Their strategy to do so has included early exposure to the clinic at freshman orientation.
“The hope is that every freshman will [sign up] for a full assessment so we can get a baseline of their emotional and cognitive function,” Alexander said. “Then we can use that information to get them set up with counseling from the beginning.”
Williams emphasized that individuals feel less pressure to have to explain themselves when their counselors share a cultural background.
“I wear my natural hair, I speak in my natural accent, I don’t [code] switch. I tell the students I was born in the apartments next to Paul Quinn. I give them my authentic self,” Alexander said.
Through this commonality, open conversations in communities can thrive.
“People want to be understood for who and what they are,” Williams said.