Looking at the cultural and linguistic barriers to receiving mental health services, there are significant disparities in mental healthcare access among different racial and ethnic groups. There was a study that found that white students are the only racial group in which most of them with severe psychological distress get treatment. More than half of students facing severe mental illness who are Black, Hispanic or Asian don’t get treatment. Minorities are often more likely to be poor, less likely to be treated by doctors of their same race and, in many cases, less likely to know they have a condition that requires professional care. Studies also suggest that doctors sometimes discriminate, declining to accept minority patients more often. At the same time, people are less likely to seek help if they think their doctor can’t empathize with their background or cultural differences and experiences.

Lack of access and cost are the two main reasons why minority students don’t receive mental health treatment. The Affordable Care Act required medical insurers to provide coverage for behavioral and mental healthcare, the cost of treatment often restricts access to mental health services. Even with insurance or financial assistance, mental healthcare services can be expensive. Copays and deductibles add up when a diagnosis requires regular therapy, medication management, or intensive treatment programs. (Vennum, A. & Vennum, D., 2013).

Another issue for students of all lengths of life is that they may be enduring heightened isolation and stress as they continue staying in their places of residence during the extant COVID – 19 (coronavirus) pandemic, and it is vital for professors, school counselors, and family counselors to go on keeping track of high school students despite the difficulty of meeting face – to – face at the school or home. School counselors repeatedly concentrate on students’ ecological structures which include their neighborhoods, families, religious groups, and learning institutions, in addition to the ways in which those structures interact to impart the adolescents’ and kids’ maturing. In addition to that dissipation of reinforcement, many families are currently being forced to deal with frustrations associated with economic stability, loss of jobs, medical concerns, and other significant stressors that may affect students indirectly and directly. School-based family counseling is a technique for assisting kids’ success in school and overcome their interpersonal, personal, and family issues.

Marriage and family therapists are the only mental health professionals required to receive training in family therapy and family systems. Schools must involve parents and even other family members to be successful in helping since the family has such a commanding influence on school behavior. Schools are also the most common site of service delivery for kids with mental health needs due to the reduction in distance and travel barriers, the more positive association of receiving services in a less stigmatizing environment, and the visibility and accessibility to different professionals who can follow students across the years.

References

Bowen, J. (2020, April 14). Counselors and Educators Should Check-in With Students, Prioritize Mental Health and Well-being During Coronavirus (COVID-19) School Closures. Retrieved July 12, 2020, from College of Education News: https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2020/04/14/counselors-and-educators-should-check-in-with-students-prioritize-mental-health-and-well-being-during-coronavirus-covid-19-school-closures/

Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2011). Research Methods in Education. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Department of Health and Basic Education. (2012). Integrated school health policy. Pretoria: Government Printer.

Donald, D., Lazarus, S., & Lolwana, P. (2002). Educational Psychology in Social Context. Cape Town, RSA: Oxford University Press.

Egbo, A. (2013). Development of Guidance and Counselling. Enugu: Joe Best Publishers.

Marrast, L., Himmelstein, D., & Woolhandler, S. (2016). Racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care for children and young Adults: A National Study. International Journal of Health Services, 810 – 824.