Prevalence, Stigma, and Working Towards Health Equity

This July, we celebrate Minority Mental Health Month to bring awareness to the unique struggles that underrepresented groups face regarding mental illness in the United States. Multicultural communities often face unique issues when getting care for mental health. Some examples include less access to treatment, poorer quality of care, discrimination in treatment settings and language barriers which could result in misdiagnosis and/or people dropping out of care.

Learning Objectives for the Presentation:

1) Attendees will understand the prevalence of mental health conditions impacting minority populations

2) Attendees expand collective knowledge of stigma and barriers to care impacting minority populations

3) We will highlight the importance of providing culturally-competent care and recognize our individual and collective responsibility in promoting mental health equity.

About the Speaker:

Annia Palacios serves as the Director of the JPS Health Network Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Prior to JPS, Annia served as Site EAP Manager and Work Environment Investigator for American Airlines. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Certified Employee Assistance Pro fessional (CEAP), and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC). Annia has dedicated her career to providing mental and emotional support to employees and their families, increasing accessibility to counseling services, and creating inclusive spaces to reduce barriers to care.