Ideas for Change
Season 2: Uncovering & Overcoming Hidden Barriers to Mental Health Care
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Mental Health Care as a Part of Preventative Care
Insurance should cover regular mental health checkups like physical care to reduce stigma and barriers.
Breaking the stigmas of receiving mental health care can start with our healthcare systems. This includes medical insurance and providers. Much like a routine check up with a PCP or dentist, insurance covers these services and encourages patients to visit and receive this care semiannually. If we can include mental health care checkups as a part of a person's regular preventative care maintenance, it slowly removes barriers to care and normalizes mental health as a vital part of healthcare. For me, the challenge has always been to navigate a complex healthcare and insurance system to see what is covered, and what types of referrals are needed. And even then, sometimes therapy is not partially/fully covered. By removing these bureaucratic elements and red tape (in healthcare and insurance systems), people will be open to receiving mental health care regularly.
Prioritizing Culturally Competent Care
Improve mental health support by training providers in culturally competent, language-accessible, patient-centered care.
One barrier to seeking mental health support can be a lack of culturally competent care. Culturally competent care occurs when a mental health provider understands how an individual’s cultural background, social experiences, and personal values may impact both how they view support and how they respond to treatment. One aspect of culturally competent care involves recognizing systemic and structural racism that can impact the accessibility and quality of care for certain communities. Other aspects include providing care in an individual’s preferred language and using therapeutic approaches that align with their personal and cultural beliefs. There are many ways culturally competent care can be implemented to improve an individual’s willingness to seek mental health support, including increasing diversity among providers, offering language-accessible services, and utilizing patient-centered approaches. For example, providers can use tools such as the Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) to better understand how a patient’s cultural identity and experiences influence their understanding of mental health and treatment. Many of the steps needed to achieve culturally competent care also connect to larger systemic issues, particularly the education and training of mental health professionals and the need for greater diversity within the field. Ensuring that individuals feel their mental health provider understands and respects how they experience and view the world could help reduce barriers to seeking professional support. I found a study (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9640880/?utm) that showed that 83% of participants highlighted that they felt it was important to have a provider of their own culture/race, as they felt the provider understood their perspective.
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Using Public Influence to Normalize Mental Health
Public figures sharing their mental health struggles could normalize seeking help and reduce stigma.
One idea I think could help overcome hidden barriers to mental health care is is to have more public figures, such as celebrities, athletes, musicians, and influencers, openly talk about their own mental health journeys. People often look up to these individuals and see them as successful, confident, and seemingly “put together.” When someone they admire openly shares that they have struggled with anxiety, depression, burnout, or other mental health challenges, people could realize that struggling with mental health is normal; it does not make someone "lame", and it does not make someone weak or unsuccessful. I think this kind of visibility from figures people look up to and respect could help normalize mental health conversations and make them feel less alone. Hearing someone they admire say that they needed support or therapy could make it feel more acceptable for others to do the same. This is not to say that public figures should be expected to provide mental health advice. But sharing their personal experiences and showing that asking for help is a normal part of taking care of yourself. I believe seeing more people openly discuss mental health could help reduce the stigma and make seeking support feel less intimidating.
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