Mental Health In Latino Community

Jessica Valle
Professor Frigo
English 101.036
21 October, 2017
Mental Health in the Latino Community
The human brain is the control center of a person’s body. When the brain gets sick, it can affect every part of a person. In the Latino community, there is a stigma surrounding the idea of mental illness. Due to this stigma, many Latino adolescents will not seek help for their disease. Only twenty percent of Latinos will express their concern to their doctors, and ten percent will seek out professional help (New Initiatives). Many initiatives are working to provide treatments and help for those in the Latino community who feel as though they have nowhere to go. Today, Latino adolescents are not seeking the help necessary to better their mental

In most cases, Latino teens were raised speaking Spanish as their first language. As they get older they learn English along the way, but it is not always easy. It also makes it harder for teens to stick to English when their whole family speaks Spanish at home. When seeking help, any individual would feel most comfortable speaking about their mental health in their native language or in the language they feel most comfortable speaking. If they cannot properly communicate with a specialist, they are not able to create that trust needed between the specialist and the client. Without trust, there is no point in seeing a specialist at all because they will not receive the full attention or understanding they are looking for. Initiatives working with the Latino community give the teens the opportunity to speak with specialists in Spanish. This option has opened a door to a whole new group of Latino’s who never sought out help due to the language barrier. With more initiatives giving this option, the number of Latino adolescents who can receive proper help for their mental illness is

Those who are suffering from depressions or anxiety may be seen as participating in brujeria. Many Latino families deny the existence of mental illness. To them, it may seem easier for them to believe it is brujeria. This stigma seen in the Latino community keeps many teens from asking for help due to the fear of being out casted by their community. Family is everything in most Latino communities, so the idea of losing them due to their illness keeps teens from getting help, even when they know they need it. Initiatives do not only offer treatment for mental illness, but also work to inform people. The stigma seen within Latino communities exists mostly due to the lack of understanding and knowledge they have of mental illness. As people in the Latino community begin to learn about mental illness, they are able to open their minds and seek help, instead of fearing