Of all of the barriers to accessing mental health care in rural communities, telehealth has helped two in a major way: travel times and stigma….
This has been an enormous change for members of the agriculture community, who according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention commit suicide at a higher rate than any other profession.
As the world copes with a global pandemic, a historical pandemic has also been illuminated: the racism pandemic. We are becoming increasingly aware of the biases inherent in the structures that frame our society, and the need to enact change is urgent. If we accept the premise that existing systems are racist, we need to turn them upside down to achieve non-racist outcomes
“Racism is pervasive. Its negative impact exists in many forms. The field of psychiatry has not been exempt from this unfortunate truth, past or present. Such truth is of great concern as psychiatry represents a group of professionals whose primary purpose is to assess, diagnose, and treat serious persistent mental illness.”
How does racism contribute to Distorted Perceptions in psychiatry?
According to a study by the American Psychiatric Association,
“Every year, 300-400 physicians die by suicide in the U.S. This statistic should make us all arc an eyebrow, considering physicians are there to save lives, not take their own.”
NAMI explains how stigma plays a role in the suicide rates of doctors and how important it is for medical professionals to speak out when they are struggling.
Many people are attracted to the mental health field as a result of their own mental health challenges. Despite this, there is still a significant stigma for counselors to talk openly about their mental health struggles. Anna Lente provides insight into why having a history of mental illness makes her a better counselor and encourages others like her to share their experiences.
