Mental Health Matters: Embracing Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation And Social Background For Better Care

It’s so important to think about race, gender, sexual orientation and social background when it comes to mental health treatment. The way these things come together can really affect how people experience and respond to mental health treatment. And, there is still so much to learn from us, Psychologists. 

Let’s talk about intersectionality! Do you know what it is? Here is a quick explanation: intersectionality is a theoretical framework that explains how social stratifications like race, gender, and ability intersect, contributing to systematic injustice and social inequality. This is a topic we’ll be exploring in more depth in another article on the blog. In the meantime, why not search for these authors and discover a whole new world? Kimberlé Crenshaw, Patricia Hill Collins, Bell Hooks, Angela Davis, Carla Akotirene, Grada Kilomba, Djamila Ribeiro.

It’s so important to understand how these factors intersect and affect each of us in our lives. Do you want to understand this concept in practice? Think about a job application for a manager position: there is a white man (race/gender) and a black woman (race/gender). Who do you think will have the position easily, if the company has not invested in inclusive and equitable policies? Well, the white man, of course! How many black professors have you had in your life? How many black people were your managers? How many trans women do you know are in high leadership positions in decision-making roles? Well, that’s food for thought! Take a moment to analyse your environment and you’ll see this is not a coincidence. 

Erigha (2015) made a really important point: there are fewer and less prominent narratives by women and racial/ethnic minorities in Hollywood cultural production. This suggests that there is a lack of diverse representation, which impacts the mental well-being of individuals from diverse backgrounds. I invite you to check this video with Viola Davis:

It’s also so important to use inclusive language in therapy. You can let me know what you want to be called, your pronouns and what is important to you! Drage and Mackereth (2022) said that sensitive approaches and deliberate language choices regarding race, gender, and sexual orientation topics can make a huge difference between welcoming or alienating people. .

In Psychology, evidence-based practice (EBP) is a really important approach to make sure that interventions and treatments are effective and tailored to the specific needs of individuals. Hook et al. (2013) looked at how being open to other cultures in therapy helps to build a stronger working relationship and improve therapy results. These findings show us that it’s really important to understand and respect people’s different cultural backgrounds if we want to provide effective psychological interventions.

And there’s more! Cortese et al. (2013) showed us how sociodemographic and economic factors at the individual and area levels can really affect our mental health. This is another great reason why it is so important to think about each person’s background when we are doing research into the environment and our health (Gul et al., 2012). Absolutely! Even there needs to be considered. If your country is going through a flood, a war, a high pollution will impact your mental health.

Now you know me a little more – in a nutshell, my services are psychology practice on evidence, while taking each person’s background into account.

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