BU’s the Brink: Prof. Jacobson López Discusses a New Project to Support Black & Latino Men’s Mental Health
Prof. Daniel Jacobson López from BU School of Social Work and Fathers’ UpLift founder Charles Daniels have initiated MenTalK, a project aimed at reducing mental health stigma among Black and Latino men by training clinicians to provide culturally competent care. Supported by funding from BU’s Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the initiative will enhance mental health outcomes by equipping professionals with the necessary skills and understanding to effectively support men of color. Jacobson López spoke to The Brink about the project’s innovative approach.
Excerpt from “BU Researcher Teams Up with Boston’s Fathers’ UpLift to Support Black Men’s Mental Health” by Bailey Scott:
We’re seeing, unfortunately, a rise of hate crimes and a rise of white supremacist groups. But there has always been a lack of attention toward Black and brown men in clinical research. For example, did you know Black men are five to seven times more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia compared to white men? There’s clinician bias that goes into the more stigmatizing diagnoses for Black men in particular. There also is a lack of clinicians of color who are working with communities of color. I think it’s so important that we make sure that we’re represented in the social work field and in the clinician space, as well as making sure that we have trained clinicians to work with Black and brown men who are enduring racism, discrimination, and anti-Black racism.
As clinicians, we often work with people who are struggling with depression, anxiety, with those sort of mental health outcomes. But it’s not as common to have clinicians, particularly clinicians of color, who can work with communities of color who are suffering due to racism and discrimination. Being able to understand what it’s like to go through daily experiences of racism, discrimination, and police brutality is a little bit different than just working with someone who may be suffering from depression that’s not due to their race and not due to their skin color.”