Degree Name
Master of Science
Department or Program
Rehabilitation Counseling
Advisor
Flowers, Carl R.
Abstract
This research paper explores several textbooks and articles that report on mental health treatment practices within African American communities. The research paper will also confer lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/sexual, queer (LGBTQ) identities, as it relates to mental health. This research will explain how specific psychiatric disabilities can have detrimental effects on African American communities, if left untreated. Moreover, this paper will discuss how unaddressed mental health treatment barriers disrupt quality of life in terms of social support, education, and judicial systems within African American communities. Although African Americans and LGBTQ populations are different minority groups, there are similarities within groups as it relates to mental health treatment disparities that will be conferred within this document. The author will additionally examine patterns of mental health treatment seeking behaviors within the context of racism, discrimination, and homophobia. Further discussions on the disconnect between psychiatric disabilities such as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and treatment options will follow. Implications are suggested within this research to increase cultural competency for providers and community members, as well as to promote independence for persons with disabilities (PWD) altogether.