Black youth in Canada face multiple barriers in getting access to mental health services — and health-care providers can make the situation more difficult, experts say.Dr. Mojola Omole, president of the association and a general surgeon in Toronto, says anti-Black racism and implicit biases play a role in what Black youth experience in the mental health system.
Many Black youth have experienced trauma, sometimes stemming from racism or discrimination, which can affect their mental health and the way they express themselves, she said."There's been a lot of adjustment made from constant PTSD and just active trauma that they don't necessarily have the same reaction that you would see in others."
With non-Black youth, mental health-care providers are more likely to dig more deeply into what's behind the irritable behaviour and reach a diagnosis of anxiety, depression or trauma, she said. Fante-Coleman, who is speaking at the Saturday conference, said a Canadian study from 2015 showed Black-Caribbean children and youth waited an average of 16 months for mental health care, compared to seven months for white patients.
There's a big need for more Canadian race-based data to improve care for Black youth, Fante-Coleman said.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
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