The Underutilization of Mental Health Services by African American College Students


Book Description

Historically, African Americans consistently underutilize mental health services. This trend is also seen in the African American college population, despite easier access to mental health resources. This report examines the central barriers experienced by African Americans in seeking out mental health services, which are most often seen in the literature. Barriers explored include stigma, the foundations of counseling, cultural mistrust, and attitudes and beliefs about mental health services. The barriers are then used as a framework to discuss preventive, developmental, and community interventions. Further suggestions are made as to how to best utilize interventions to reduce the barriers experienced by African American students in seeking mental health services.




African Americans and Mental Health


Book Description

This book enumerates the unique challenges, barriers, needs, and trauma of being an African American in the United States, and at the same time highlights what needs to be done to improve and foster the mental health healing of this population. This includes practical applications and strategic solutions that work, such as the family togetherness and ardent spiritual beliefs that form the basis for resilient and vibrant mental health among African Americans. This contributed volume features the authorship of counseling professionals, most of whom are African American themselves. Because of their own personal experiences, they are able to emphasize cogent helping strategies for this population, to show how to move forward with encouragement. The book also highlights ways to promote life that is mentally healthy and holistic for African Americans. Topics covered within the chapters include: Mental Health Challenges Unique to African American Children and Adolescents Diagnosis Issues with African Americans Culture of Family Togetherness, Emotional Resilience, and Spiritual Lifestyles Inherent in African Americans from the Time of Slavery Until Now The Trauma of Being an African American in the 21st Century Training, Recruiting, and Retaining African American Mental Health Professionals African Americans and Mental Health: Practical and Strategic Solutions to Barriers, Needs, and Challenges is an essential resource for helping professionals who work with this population, including psychiatrists, counselors, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals. The book also should be of interest to researchers, instructors, and students in Counseling, Social Work, and Psychology.




Examining the Influence of Religious Attitudes, Acceptance of Change, and Cultural Mistrust on the Utilization of Therapy for African American Male College Students Utilizing Therapy


Book Description

Cultural mistrust and fear of potential racism from people in the medical profession may be contributing to a noted disdain for mental health counseling among African American men. The purpose of this study was designed to gain insight into how attitudes toward religious help-seeking, acceptance of change, cultural mistrust, and mental health stigma impact therapy utilization among African American male college students. The review of literature explored the theoretical frameworks followed by the historical perspective, epigenetics, family structure, masculinity concept and help-seeking behaviors, noting barriers, fear, stigmas, spiritual influence, and economic hardships. Acceptance of change-evolving action is not currently endorsed by male African American college students. This appears to be due to attitudes, cultural competence, mistrust, risks, and misunderstanding of potential benefits to therapy utilization. The information examined in the literature review provided a foundational framework for understanding the impact of barriers on African American male college students regarding utilization of therapy. Although there have been awareness efforts, prompted by the federal government and the counseling community, the problem of underutilization continues. A quantitative correlational study was conducted to explore if religious help seeking, acceptance of change, cultural mistrust and mental health stigma have a connection to decreased therapy utilization. The study significance focuses on minimizing barriers to therapy utilization while increasing understanding concerning the benefits of its use. The significance of the study is designed to influence health care outcomes and disparities. The methods and procedures used in this research are presented in eight sections: (a) overview, (b) design, (c) research questions, (d) hypotheses, (e) participants, (f) instrument, (g) data collection, and (h) summary.




Black Male College Students' Mental Health


Book Description

This important book explores the intersection between mental health and Black college students, providing a crucial resource for higher education administrators and educators. Chapter authors provide invaluable insights into the experiences, joys, challenges, and the needs of Black male college students grappling with their mental health. Chapters cover the most timely topics such as understanding masculinity, providing meaningful career services, supporting Black male student athletes, confronting stigmas, and supporting Black trans men and transmasculine persons. Full of practical examples and strategies, this contributed volume discusses the ways faculty, administrators, and student affairs educators can support and help Black men to navigate problems stemming from mental health issues to help better facilitate and maximize their success in higher education.




Mental Health Care in the African-American Community


Book Description

Over the course of an African American’s lifetime, mental health care needs change according to an individual’s unique interactions with his or her environment. Mental Health Care in the African-American Community uses this perspective to provide a deeper analysis of factors and issues affecting the mental health of African Americans. This comprehensive text provides a current and historical analysis of the impact of mental health research, policy, community, and clinical practice from a life course perspective. Stressing evidence-based practice as an expanded way to think and talk about individualizing and translating evidence into a given practice situation, this valuable book provides a social work context for all helping professions. Mental Health Care in the African-American Community provides the helping community with non-traditional, expanded ways of thinking and intervening in the mental health needs and care of African Americans. Organized logically, this complex subject presents data in a user-friendly way that engages the reader, and provides chapter summaries and suggested group/classroom activities to facilitate understanding. This text is extensively referenced and includes figures and tables to clearly illustrate data. Topics in Mental Health Care in the African-American Community include: a historical overview of African Americans’ mental health care a conceptual and theoretical framework for African Americans’ mental health current issues affecting mental health intervention for African Americans mental health in group homes and foster care depression substance abuse poverty ADHD suicide mental health in elderly African Americans mental health policy rural African American mental health needs kinship care multiethnic families and children much, much more! Mental Health Care in the African-American Community is a valuable textbook for practitioners; administrators; researchers; policymakers; educators; and students in social work, psychology, mental health services, case management, and community planning.




Examining the Underutilization of Mental Health Services by Measuring Help-seeking Attitudes Among University Students


Book Description

Research shows that mental health services are generally underutilized. The impact of untreated mental health disorders is pervasive and poses social concerns for all communities. Therefore, there is a need to understand why mental health services are not being utilized. Help-seeking attitudes, stigma, ethnicity, gender, and counseling exposure have been identified as significant deterrents to individuals seeking mental health services. However, there are gaps in the literature related to how these factors impact students on college campuses. Therefore, it was the goal of this study to examine the implications of ethnicity, gender, and counseling exposure on help-seeking attitudes. The results of the study indicated there are no statistically significant differences in ethnicity and help-seeking attitudes. However, there were statistically significant differences in help-seeking attitudes among participants who reported exposure to counseling and no exposure to counseling. Additionally, there were statistically significant differences in gender and help-seeking attitudes, with females being more likely to seek mental health counseling than male university students.




Journal of International Students, 2014 Vol. 2(2)


Book Description

The Journal of International Students (JIS), an academic, interdisciplinary, and peer-reviewed publication (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & Online ISSN 2166-3750), publishes narrative, theoretical, and empirically-based research articles, student and faculty reflections, study abroad experiences, and book reviews relevant to international students and their cross-cultural experiences and understanding in international education.




Clinical and Cultural Barriers to Psychological Help Seeking in African American College Students


Book Description

This study evaluated clinical and cultural barriers to help seeking to identify which factor best predicted African American undergraduate student initial attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help (ATSPPH-short form). Predictor variables included anticipated utility, emotional openness, cultural mistrust, racial identity development, and stigma. Moderator variables controlled for prior counseling, gender and site. This study built upon prior research by evaluating clinical and cultural factors together and utilizing an information processing model to conceptualize data (Vogel et al., 2006). The focus on African American undergraduate students was based on retention problems for this population (American Council on Education, 2006) and underutilization of counseling by this population despite evidence of links between counseling & college persistence (Alford, 2000; Hamilton, 2006; Kearney, Draper & Barron, 2005; Trippi & Cheatham, 1991; & Wilson, Mason & Ewing, 1997). Sixty seven students from two Northeastern US colleges were surveyed. Direct correlation analysis found nine significant relationships with ATSPPH. Controlled for prior counseling use, anticipated benefit (r = .423, p=.001), Emotional Openness (r = .330, p=.010), and an Assimilationist Ideology of Racial Identity (r = .296, p=.022) were correlated with ATSPPH. Stepwise Multiple Regression found four significant predictors of attitudes, anticipated benefit (F=15.062, p




The Influence of Upwardly Mobile African American Women's Racial Identity Development on Anticipated Satisfaction of Counseling Services


Book Description

There were no significant differences between anticipated satisfaction of individual counseling and group counseling or between racially heterogeneous and racially homogeneous counseling group memberships. Findings of this study underscore previous research stating that African Americans prefer same-race counselors. The results also suggest that the type of counseling and composition of counseling groups may not be as salient to African American women as counselor-client racial similarity. Implications of this research suggest that the visual and physical presence of African American counselors within mental health and counseling agencies could make professional counseling more attractive, accessible, and credible for African American women. In addition, counselor-client racial matching may also reverse the underutilization of mental health services among people of color seeking professional counseling.




Journal of International Students 2014 Vol 4 Issue 2


Book Description

An interdisciplinary, peer reviewed publication, Journal of International Students (Print ISSN 2162-3104 & Online ISSN 2166-3750) is a professional journal that publishes narrative, theoretical and empirically-based research articles, student reflections, and book reviews relevant to international students and their cross cultural experiences and understanding. Published quarterly, the Journal encourages the submission of manuscripts from around the world, and from a wide range of academic fields, including comparative education, international education, student affairs, linguistics, psychology, religion, sociology, business, social work, philosophy, and culture studies. For further information http: / /jistudents.org/