Few Latinos with mental disorders get treatment
February 28th, 2008Stigma of illness a barrier in seeking help
From the Stockton [CA] Record:
According to a national study by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, people from Latino families are unlikely to get treatment for mental illness. Among Latinos with mental disorders, the group found that fewer than one in 11 seeks mental health care specialists. That number went down to fewer than one in 20 among Latino immigrants with mental disorders.
Much of this can be attributed to a lack of education and a stigma attached to mental illness among Latino families, said a NAMI spokeswoman. The families tend to attribute the symptoms of mental illness to witchcraft, demon possession, drug abuse or alcohol abuse.
“It’s easier to believe these things than to believe that your loved one has a mental illness,” she said. “They (would) rather believe it’s something that will go away.”
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pm and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, mental health, treatments.
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