photo courtesy of National Association of School Psychologists. Mental Health, much like all of the other disorders that we see in our society, does not have a face - anyone can be confronted with the challenges posed by living with a Mental Health Disorder. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1 in 5 youth between the ages of 13 and 18 have, or will have, a serious mental illness. If you count five kids that you know personally, there is a good chance that at least one of them has or will suffer from a serious mental illness! NAMI shared a few more statistics: “37% of students with a mental health condition age 14 and older, drop out of school; 70% of youth in state and local juvenile justice systems have a mental illness; Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24 and 90% of those who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness.” Despite these numbers and the fact that a lot of people have personally come into contact with mental health difficulties, for some reason, it continues to be stigmatized within the African American community.
As a School Psychologist, my job responsibilities include identifying educational and mental health difficulties that a student may be facing and trying to determine where those difficulties stem from and what resources are required in order for the student to be successful. Due to the fact that I am tasked with informing parents about their child’s needs, I am often on the receiving end of some disdain about my findings. Some parents try to downplay the results or may flat out neglect to accept the results at all. Instead of focusing on what the next steps may be, some parents may come up with excuses for why their child may behave a certain way. Unfortunately, this way of thinking is a hindrance on the school’s ability to help the child effectively. As a parent, I can certainly understand the desire for your child to be “like everyone else,” but after the initial shock of a diagnosis, I feel that the parent has to come to the ultimate conclusion that they will do whatever is in the best interest of the child- even if that includes pushing my report off to the side and getting a second opinion! I feel that a lot of the negative connotations surrounding mental health diagnoses stems from the fact that it is simply not talked about within the African American community. Other “issues” such as broken families, addiction, and teen pregnancy to name a few, have all been covered relentlessly in mainstream media (through movies and television sitcoms), but these same outlets do not delve into mental difficulties, wellness and stability. When Kanye West had what some considered a “mental breakdown,” I was hopeful that maybe this would provide an opportunity for our community to blatantly see the effects of a mental health disability that has gone untreated. I thought for sure that the out spoken Mr. West would become the face of normalizing mental disorders and unapologetically rant about what happened to him and the measures in which he has taken to get help. But, that did not take place… Maybe he didn’t have a mental break and simply suffered from exhaustion as some media outlets reported or maybe he’s still in the process of accepting and dealing with a newly identified diagnosis… Whatever the case may be, despite Kanye West remaining mum and not becoming the “poster child” that I had hoped for him to be, our community turned his possible difficulties into a joke with memes, gifs and constant playback of audio and video of his erratic behaviors, which was sad to say the least.
Mental Health awareness is the best way to eradicate the stigma attached to these disorders and ensure that families and individuals seek out and accept the help that they need. The best way to move forward as a community is to educate each other. Fear of the unknown is a huge factor in why parents and families avoid getting and/or accepting help. That education can take place through a variety of junctures- schools, entertainment, mailed pamphlets, social media. Opening up the lines of communication will make way for productive discussions and ensure that our children get the help that they need and ultimately save lives!
Mental Health awareness is the best way to eradicate the stigma attached to these disorders and ensure that families and individuals seek out and accept the help that they need. The best way to move forward as a community is to educate each other. Fear of the unknown is a huge factor in why parents and families avoid getting and/or accepting help. That education can take place through a variety of junctures- schools, entertainment, mailed pamphlets, social media. Opening up the lines of communication will make way for productive discussions and ensure that our children get the help that they need and ultimately save lives!
M. Jean-Paul is a school psychologist who specializes in elementary and secondary educational therapy.
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