WHAT: |
July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, which focuses on the mental health challenges experienced by underrepresented groups. Minorities face additional hurdles due to lack of adequate, culturally competent care and cultural stigma. The month was established by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008 to improve access to mental health treatment and services and promote public awareness of mental illness. For reporters covering minority mental health, the American Psychological Association has experts available who can speak on the health and mental health issues minorities face. |
WHO: |
Erlanger Turner, PhD Expertise: Assistant professor of psychology and director of the Race and Cultural Experiences Lab at the University of Houston, Turner focuses on race-related stress and mental health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities. Howard Stevenson, PhD Expertise: Constance Clayton professor of urban education and professor of Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Stevenson is nationally recognized for his research on negotiating racial conflicts using racial literacy. His research includes interventions that teach emotional and racial literacy skills to families and youth. Derald Wing Sue, PhD Expertise: Professor of psychology and education at Teachers College at Columbia University, Sue focuses on multicultural competencies and microaggression. He has written over 160 articles and 21 books on multicultural counseling and psychotherapy, racism and cultural diversity. Germine Awad, PhD Expertise: Associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, Awad focuses on prejudice and discrimination, identity and acculturation among people of color with an emphasis on Arab, Middle Eastern and North African Americans. She also examines body image among women of color. APA also has useful resources available on its website, including: Asian Americans Need Culturally Competent Mental Health Care African Americans Have Limited Access to Mental and Behavioral Health Care Dual Pathways to a Better America: Preventing Discrimination and Promoting Diversity |
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 118,400 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives. |
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