By, Regina Vogt, LISW-S

July is National Minority Mental Health month. People belonging to racial and ethnic minority groups are less likely to have access to mental health services and are more likely to receive poor quality care for mental health, leading to negative mental health outcomes, including suicide. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health is actively combatting negative mental health outcomes in minority groups by improving access to culturally-competent mental health services and by decreasing the stigma surrounding mental illness. For additional information and resources, visit minorityhealth.hhs.gov. Additionally, the website PsychologyToday.com allows the user to search for a mental health therapist and narrow the search by ethnicity served—Black and African American, Hispanic and Latino, Native American, Asian, and Pacific Islander.