Sec. 6001. Mental health findings
501 words·~2 min read·
/bill/117/s/4486/is/section-6001·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress finds the following: Despite the existence of effective treatments, inequities lie in the availability, accessibility, and quality of mental health services for racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. These inequities have powerful significance for minority groups and for society as a whole. Racial and ethnic minorities bear a greater burden from unmet mental health needs and thus suffer a greater loss to their overall health and productivity. Improving community conditions and one’s home environment, paired with high-quality, accessible, and culturally and linguistically tailored mental health services, can reduce the likelihood, frequency, and intensity of challenges to one’s mental health.
The presence of strong social connections and trust, opportunities to experience and share cultural identity, safe gathering places, and economic opportunity are community factors that benefit mental health. The social, physical, economic, and other conditions, otherwise known as social determinants of health, in communities can have tremendous influence on daily stressors that shape mental health outcomes. Significant barriers include the cost of and access to quality care, societal stigma, mental health workforce shortages, the fragmented organization of services and needed social supports, and the history of racism and discrimination in the mental health system.
People with severe and persistent mental illness who are racial or ethnic minorities often have co-occurring health and mental health conditions and experience direct inequities in access to necessary supports, resources, and services which, without proper accommodations and support, further stigmatize them and limit their participation in society. African-American, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native, Middle Eastern and North African (MENA), and other people of color communities are more likely to experience systemic discrimination by health care and social service providers and may be reluctant to seek mental health care and other health interventions.
Mental health conditions and substance abuse disorders retain considerable stigma in many communities of color and seeking treatment is not always encouraged. Addressing mental health stigma and increasing access to culturally and linguistically appropriate treatments and supports in communities will help to increase utilization of mental health services for people who have functional difficulties because of mental health challenges. There is a link between a mental health diagnosis and the likelihood of an individual committing suicide.
A comprehensive public health approach to behavioral health is one that fosters and finances protective factors in racial and ethnic communities that support mental health. Approaches to mental health and trauma must keep in mind the historical and present day and cultural trauma that impacts many communities of color, including trauma and loss caused by adverse weather events and structural violence. Culturally and linguistically appropriate treatments and supports must keep approaches of individual communities to mental health in mind, including by considering— approaches to cultural healing practices; and the diverse mental health professionals needed for such practices, such as peer support specialists.
Approaches to mental health and addressing trauma must keep in mind the concept of intersectionality of individuals; that individuals may experience many inequities that shape the way they process and experience everyday life.