Mental-health leaders: We must end racism pandemic

Will this be the year we finally begin to dismantle systemic racism in the United States?

COVID-19’s disproportionately lethal impact on Black, Latinx and Native American people has revealed just how unequal our nation’s health outcomes are. Meanwhile, the high-profile slayings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and far too many other Black Americans have ignited the biggest wave of protests in more than a halfcentury — and prompted people of all colors and creeds to acknowledge just how pervasive racism is in our society.

The American public is starting to see racism as a public health crisis. Addressing that crisis will require comprehensive change to American life, from our economy and educational system to housing and health care — including the way we approach and treat mental health.

As mental-health professionals, we’ve seen firsthand how devastating systemic racism can be on the mental health of people of color. Racial minorities are more likely to experience stress, anxiety and depression than whites. Yet they’re much less likely to have access to adequate mental health care — and thus often struggle to cope.

Poor mental health contributes to other debilitating conditions. Black Americans experience post-traumatic stress disorder at higher rates than whites. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association linked an increased risk of hypertension among Blacks with high rates of stress.

And Black Americans are twice as likely to die from diabetes as non-Hispanic whites, according to 2017 data.

The COVID-19 pandemic is only the most recent case study in racial health disparity. Although Black Americans make up 13% of the population, they’ve accounted for 25% of coronavirus patients.

These disparities have persisted for generations. Yet our nation has done little to address them. Our three organizations — the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, and the National Association of Social Workers — vow to change that.

Many of our members have worked for years to make society more equitable for people of color. But each of our organizations and professions can point to historical positions and policies that exacerbated racism or racial disparities.

Ending systemic racism in America must be a public health priority, and we must commit the resources necessary to achieve this goal. Americans are now telling pollsters that they’re ready and willing. But we need more than good intentions. We need action.

We in the mental-health professions can work to attract more people of color into psychology, psychiatry, and social work in order to meet the need for culturally competent mental health care. That’s crucial to narrowing health disparities, as research shows that minority patients feel more comfortable when treated by health professionals with similar racial backgrounds.

Policymakers must also take action. Decades of institutional racism, bias, discrimination, racial profiling and violence have taken a heavy psychological toll on people of color, especially Black Americans.

That demands a robust public health response — one that will make health care more accessible to people of color.

Lawmakers can make it easier for people to seek mental health care by liberalizing the use of telehealth. Many restrictions on the practice have been rolled back during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to limit potential exposure to the virus. Eliminating them permanently, and thereby ensuring that mental health treatment is little more than a phone call away, could do wonders to furnish care to those who need it most.

Police reform should also be part of that public health response. Over the last few months, the country is learning what Black Americans have long known — that they’re three times more likely to be killed by police than whites. That knowledge severely taxes their mental health. Indeed, depression and anxiety among Black Americans skyrocketed after the death of George Floyd.

Law enforcement should aim to deescalate crises using evidence-based techniques, rather than default to force and violence. By banning chokeholds and racial and religious profiling.

California Rep. Karen Bass’s Justice in Policing Act would help achieve that goal.

The bipartisan Crisis Care Improvement and Suicide Prevention Act would similarly give communities the resources they need to provide appropriate crisis care to those with mental illness, rather than simply ushering them into the criminal justice system.

States and localities should also consider enlisting trained mental health professionals, rather than armed police, to respond to people clearly experiencing a mental health crisis, like a drug overdose or a schizophrenic episode.

Our nation can no longer ignore the public health crisis of systemic racism. We all must do better. And we will.