Mental healths star is rising in the healthcare world.

This unprecedented interest in the workings of the wounded psyche comes as no surprise.

Homelessness is continually increasing and were facinga mass housing crisis.

At this point, it is safe to say that most of us could use a therapy session.

How Can We Understand the Treatment Gap?

While the acknowledgment of mental wellness feels long overdue in many ways, it isnt without its issues.

There are barriers to care for all, especially for those with marginalized identities.

Intersectionality is the intersecting levels of oppression at the systemic and institutional levels.

The treatment gap lies beyond the Black-White binary and wades into the intersectional territory.

As a Black clinician myself, I have seen unprecedented demand forBIPOCmental health care.

The majority of my clinical practice is BIPOC individuals and Ive held a waitlist rather consistently since December 2020.

Why does the gap exist in the first place?

Where Did This All Begin?

Mass incarceration of people of color remains a huge point of inequality today.

Although he was known for being an abolitionist, he unfortunately was not exempt from racist ideas and beliefs.

He promoted the concept that dark skin is akin to leprosy and the cure is to turn white.

Drapetomania isnt the only discriminatory diagnosis staining our history of mental health care.

Intergenerational Trauma

Beyond discriminatory diagnoses comes the impact ofintergenerational trauma.

Clinicians need to be thinking about all of these factors to provide adequate treatment for patients.

In 2018, Soco Rey Therapy was born with the simple tagline, Therapy thats chill AF.

Showing up in her full personhood only proved the need was begging to be fulfilled.

Socorro Soco Reynoso, LCSW

People recognize the need.

There was a surge… in 2020 our business went from 22 sessions a week to 100 a week.

Yet, finding a therapist is only half the struggleaffording care is another leg of the journey.

These therapy vouchers are community-funded and are available every quarter.

The Queer and Trans Therapists of Color data pipe Mental Health Fundfollows a similar model.

Some therapists have opted to turn towards community-funded mental healthcare to expand their accessibility.

In 24 hours, we got $16,000, Rey concluded.

If funds are limited, give your time.

Collective power is greater than individual effort.

However, personal reflection and education must come first.

She suggests that political awareness is null without personal introspection.

Everyone needs to take stock and ask ourselves how we are contributing to this system, she concluded.

Reimagining Mental Healthcare

Mental health care is only one part of the healing needed in BIPOC communities.

That is my vision and, well, thats not going to happen only in therapy.

It is closer than we think.

World Health Organization.WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard.

Published January 19th, 2022.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).HUD Releases 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report Part 1.

Published March 18th, 2021.

American Academy of Pediatrics.AAP, AACAP, CHA declare national emergency in children’s mental health.

Published November 22, 2021.

American Psychological Association.Psychologys Workforce is Becoming More Diverse.Published November 1, 2020.

In R. D. Goodman & P. C. Gorski, eds.Decolonizing “multicultural” counseling through social justice(pp.

Springer Science + Business Media.