GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — July is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, focusing on the unique mental health challenges faced by underrepresented communities. 

Dr. Moneer Al-Nabolsi is a family medicine physician at Corewell Health. He said that the month highlights overlooked mental health challenges that many minority communities silently face.

“It really shines a spotlight on the various disparities we see, particularly in racial and ethnic minority communities,” he said.

Additionally, Al-Nabolsi said that the mission is to draw attention to the obstacles that may keep people from seeking help that may stem from perspectives in their cultures or communities. 

“The point is to really raise awareness about the stigma, about the various barriers that people may have and particularly cultural disconnects that may prevent people from seeking care in the first place,” he said. 

Al-Nabolsi cited his own upbringing as an example, noting that mental health conversations can be especially challenging for people who never discuss the subject while growing up. 

“For example, I come from a Middle Eastern community and this is something that…it’s getting a lot better now but when I was growing up this is something that nobody talks about,” he said.

“It’s really frowned upon to discuss it, and so it’s really the stigma is the biggest thing. When you’re raised in a way that…you never feel comfortable talking about this kind of stuff, you’re not going to be very easily comfortable as an adult talking about this stuff.” 

Many minority communities deal with the negative connotations surrounding mental health, but often to higher degrees, according to Al-Nabolsi. 

“The stigma is really the biggest thing,” he said. “We’ve all heard of the stigma of mental health but particularly minority communities, it’s to a different level.” 

There are a handful of challenges that many minority communities face when seeking help for mental health, but Al-Nabolsi said that many of them fit into one category: access.

“Access is a big thing,” he said. “Financial constraints. Underrepresentation in the field. Even things like access to internet, or broadband access, things like that,” he said. 

Primary care physicians play a pivotal role for guiding people towards seeking help. Al-Nabolsi credited them for their work, particularly when it comes to screenings. 

“PCPs are the first line of defense for this type of thing,” he said. “All of our experts, organizations or the people that we try to listen to for guidelines tell us to screen every single time, regardless of if you’re coming for whatever type of visit. So screening is very important.” 

It is important to do your research when searching for a mental health professional, while also attempting to find someone who is cognizant of your background. 

“Cultural misunderstandings are a big thing,” he said. “So it’s important to try to kind of have a good match between the health care professional and the person.” 

Asking your insurance and searching directories online are recommended methods to finding a therapist or someone professionally to speak to, but Al-Nabolsi highlighted another starting point for people to keep in mind. 

“You want to start with someone that you trust,” he said. “Primary care is a good way to do that. Nowadays, there’s a lot of reviews online, there’s a lot of background that’s published. I get some patients that just read my background online and they come see me and that’s a very common way to do that now. So I would encourage people to go online, look at what other people are saying, see if that’s somebody you might connect with and go out and make that step. The first step is asking for help and presenting and making that move to go see the primary care physician. Often it’s considered a sign of weakness, but that’s one of the hardest things to do and it takes a lot of courage to do that.”