Watch: Dr. La Shawn Paul on mental health, stark contrast in regards to access and awareness

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July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. According to NAMI, in 2008, July was designated as the Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month by the U.S. House of Representatives to improve access to mental health treatment and services and promote awareness on different mental health issues.

As previously reported in May, for theGrio’s original series “Unheard,” Dr. La Shawn Paul (founder of Social Work Diva, mental health therapist and consultant) participated in a conversation around Black women and mental health where the topic came up about why Black women are less likely to seek professional help compared to their counterparts. Paul highlighted the difference in regards to access and awareness.

Also Read:
‘Unheard’: Black women open up about mental health

Check out the transcription below for the full conversation.

Dr. La Shawn Paul: One of the biggest things that I’ve come to necessarily realize is there’s such a significant difference and stark contrast in regards to access and awareness. Right.

Paul: And I think that when you kind of think of the two A’s in regards to access and awareness, what’s really important is that there isn’t enough funding. Therapy is very expensive. Not everyone has health insurance. Even with health insurance, mental health parity is not up to par. Right. So we can take care of our medical health, but then we’re told, hey, there’s this deductible.

Paul: I heard from my insurance that they only cover five mental health diagnosis and one of them was not anxiety. Right.

Also Read:
Black men are opening up about their struggles with mental health

Paul: So a big part of those things is ultimately and even fear of being diagnosed. Right. Even maybe even in engaging with a system that wasn’t meant for you. But also a big part of it, too, is there aren’t enough providers that look like us. Right. There’s a lot more than I’m sure when you started your mental health journey, right?

Paul: My first couple of therapists were all white men, right? They didn’t look like me. They didn’t understand. I had to explain my blackness.

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