Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information, please contact:
Henry Acosta, MA,MSW, LSW
Project Director, Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics
New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc.
3575 Quakerbridge Road
Mercerville, New Jersey, 08619
Tel. (609) 838-5488
Mental Health Crisis Workers Urged to Consider Culture in aftermath of September 11
New Jersey Mental Health Institute launches ‘Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics’
Manasquan, N.J. (October 9, 2001) - Following the terrorist attacks of last month, the New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc. (NJMHI), an outgrowth of the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, Inc., is urging mental health crisis workers to consider cultural factors and influence when working with people of all ethnicities and cultures as they help them rebuild their lives. The events of September 11th are affecting people of all ages, races, genders, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicities (including those of Hispanic background whom the Institute is targeting in its newest initiative). Many are or will be suffering from anxiety, depression, phobias, substance abuse, or thought disturbances as a result of these events for years to come. Mental health workers must be prepared to provide quality mental health services to all those in need and be aware of the changing demographics in our country.
According to the United States 2000 Census data, Hispanics are the fastest growing group in our country. Hispanics in New Jersey and New York, areas deeply affected by the September 11th events, had the highest population growth of any ethnic group between 1999 and 2000. The Hispanic population of 2000 is very different from that of 1999. Ten years ago, most of the Hispanic population consisted of people from Puerto Rico. Today, Hispanics come from other Caribbean islands, as well as from Central and South American countries. As a matter of fact, U.S. Census data for New Jersey shows the four largest Hispanic groups in the state are from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba, with Mexicans having the greatest percentage increase over the last decade.
“With our country Hispanics being the fastest growing minority group, we must take all necessary steps to ensure that we comprehend their beliefs and needs and then stand ready to deliver culturally sensitive and competent mental health services, especially at this time when so many persons have been impacted from the World Trade Center tragedy,” says Debra Wentz, Ph.D., Executive Director.
Mental health workers must be aware of, and have an understanding of the wide-ranging role culture plays in shaping what people bring to the clinical setting and how it shapes treatment professionals. According to the US Surgeon General’s report, Mental Health: Culture, Race and Ethnicity, a supplement to the US Surgeon General’s 1999 Report on Mental Health, “Cultural differences must be accounted for to ensure that minorities, like all Americans, receive mental health care tailored to their needs.” The report stresses that cultural influences account for variations in the way consumers communicate their symptoms, which ones they choose to report, whether they seek treatment or not, what type of help they may seek, and what types of social support and coping styles are available.
Mental health workers must be aware of these influences and take necessary steps to ensure their cultural competence when working with Hispanics, in order to ensure the delivery of high quality and effective mental health services. Recognizing the importance of cultural influence, awareness of the social development in the country, and realizing the need for further understanding of Hispanics and their beliefs surrounding mental health services, the NJMHI is spearheading a project, entitled, “Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health Issues for Hispanics”. The project is being made possible by an educational grant from the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation and aims to address the nationwide lack of access to mental health and behavioral health services among Hispanics. The project will aim to understand the belief systems of, and overcome barriers facing the at-risk Hispanic population in need of mental health services. The two-year anti-stigma and anti-discrimination project will focus on research, training, information dissemination, and evaluation as a means to ending cultural discrimination among mental health providers and the larger public.
The project will focus on the largest Hispanic groups in the State of New Jersey as reported by the recent US Census and will ultimately develop and disseminate a nationwide training model, including a curriculum incorporating best practices, for clinicians that address the needs of the Hispanic population.
This innovative project is one of many to come from the NJMHI, an organization dedicated to promoting quality mental health services through policy development initiatives, training, technical assistance, research, data collection, best practice development, and anti-stigma and anti-discrimination campaigns.
For more information on the project and for interviews with either Henry Acosta or Dr. Debra Wentz, please contact the New Jersey Mental Health Institute, Inc. at 732-528-8585.
