Adam Crampsie, our Chief Executive, spoke with Asher Craig for our podcast: It’s All Mental. Asher is the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Bristol City Council, and she had a conversation with Adam about race inequalities in mental health, specifically for the Black community.
“We are overrepresented in the mental health system, and acutely underrepresented in the organisations that deliver the services to us.”
Listen to this podcast episode and find out more about Asher here.
In a research report carried out by Mind, it was found that ‘People from ethnic minority communities want mental health support that is layered and recognises their intersectional experiences. Otherwise, service design and delivery risks categorising and objectifying people.’
In our NHS Talking Therapies services, we have a number of national champions who help us make sure we’re delivering our best in each of our specialism areas. One of these areas is ethnically and culturally diverse communities.
Jamille Palmer, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner here at Everyturn is our national champion for ethnically and culturally diverse communities. He is eager to research and find ways to support our colleagues when supporting with people from racialised communities.
“Minoritised individuals are more likely to be exposed to minority stressors that can worsen mental health. Despite this, we are less likely to reach out for help and support is often not specialized for our needs.”
“In this current champion role I have been collating research to support proposed changes for 2024. I am eager to work on ways of improving access to service for ethnic minorities and sharing resources to support practitioners working with people from minoritized backgrounds.”
When it comes to mental health support, we believe that there should never be a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Whether it’s in our NHS Talking Therapies, dementia care, crisis support or community support – at Everyturn, we want to understand the person as an individual, with their unique lived experiences. But we know we aren’t perfect – and there is always so much more to be heard, understood, and improved. Not just as an organisation, but as a team of people supporting and caring for others.
Click here to read more about Race Equality Week 2024, and find out how your organisation can get involved.
You might have noticed that we use the term ‘racialised communities’. We understand that terminology used can be unhelpful and can sometimes further exclude minoritised communities. It’s important that when we’re speaking about multiple communities, that we’re not ignoring anyone’s experiences. We’ve referred to Centre for Mental Health’s Guide to race and ethnicity terminology to make sure that the language we use is inclusive.
References:
Mind – Race and mental health research report
Centre for Mental Health’s Guide to race and ethnicity terminology