What Is Inclusive Mental Health Care?
Everyone knows how important it is to care for their mental health, but that doesn’t mean everyone has equal access to this care.
Historically, health care has been out of reach for many groups due to various barriers such as racism, location, homophobia, and finances.
Luckily, more clinics are aiming to incorporate more inclusive mental health care. But what is it, and how does it help underserved populations? Read on to explore the ideas behind inclusive mental health care and how it helps the community.
Contents
Why Inclusive Mental Health Care Matters?
Inclusive mental health care consists of mental health services that can help all populations. Traditionally, mental health care has primarily assisted certain groups based on availability, location, education, and financial cost.
Inclusive mental health care aims to address gaps in mental health care and ensure that everyone has the services they need to remain happy and healthy.
People come from all walks of life and therefore have unique challenges and barriers they encounter. Inclusive mental health care helps all populations through their obstacles without judgment or discrimination.
It is an essential service that ensures that everyone can be on the same playing field regarding mental health.
What Is Included In Inclusive Mental Health Care?
Inclusive mental health care helps people form multiple underserved groups. It serves to care for all people, including those of the LGBTQ community, of all ethnic backgrounds, of low socioeconomic status, and disabilities. Read on to learn how inclusive mental health care helps each of these communities.
1. Focus on diversity
The past few years have taught us the importance of diversity and ensuring that everyone has equal access to the same rights and privileges. Inclusive mental health care ensures that everyone has access to mental health care without judgment or discrimination.
This is important because not only has health care discriminated against them in the past, but these very acts of discrimination may weigh on their mental health.
Furthermore, many ethnic groups hold onto traumas and experiences that other groups from their history. These are heavy burdens to bear, and all groups deserve a calm and safe space to unload them and heal.
Furthermore, diversity is not limited to the patients. Diverse mental health services mean that the staff in mental health clinics is diverse as well.
This allows the patients to connect to someone with a similar experience and background. This important connection helps create safe spaces that encourage empathy, understanding, and trust.
2. Support For LGBTQ
LGBTQ individuals have unique experiences that cis, straight individuals may never understand. They encounter a significant amount of discrimination and oppression, which can seriously affect their mental health.
Many choose to hide their true selves for fear of punishment or oppression, but this, unfortunately, may also lead to various psychological or mood disorders.
Inclusive mental health care allows them a safe space to express themselves and find happiness and well-being. LGBTQ individuals can safely discuss their identity and relationships with a therapist without judgment or harassment.
Furthermore, inclusive mental health care ensures that LGBTQ representation is found in the staff as well, so that patients can discuss their concerns with someone who understands what they are going through.
3. Empathy For Disabilities
Though there is more online awareness and empathy of disabilities, this does not always translate to real life.
Whether the disabilities are obvious or invisible, people with disabilities are often bullied, harassed, and discriminated against for something that is beyond their control.
Furthermore, the world can feel unsafe for them, as they may not have a support network to help them through their obstacles.
Inclusive mental health care treats people with disabilities without judgment or discrimination. Whether the disabilities are physical or mental, everyone is welcome to discuss their problems and create a happy life through their unique perspective.
An inclusive therapist will have knowledge of various mental disabilities and know exactly how to treat the patient and help them manage their unique challenges.
4. Affordable Care
It is very common for people not to get mental health care due to the cost. Even with insurance, the premiums and deductibles can be too high for some people to pay.
And since some people view mental health care as not as important as physical health care, they may opt to skip their care despite needing it for their well-being.
Inclusive mental health care offers free, inexpensive, or sliding scale options so that no one has to worry about their bank account when receiving care. This is important as financial concerns can easily cause trauma or psychological disorders.
Therefore, inclusive mental health care makes treatment for their conditions easy to access and prevents these conditions from worsening.
Final Thoughts
The next step for mental health care is to become more inclusive. For far too long, many populations have lost out on this important care simply because they look or act differently.
Inclusive mental health care allows these groups to process their traumas, treat their conditions, and find happiness and peace without oppression or judgment. Click here for more information on inclusive mental health services and how they help the community.
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