Mental Health
In a world that often overlooks the struggles of the marginalized, an alarming mental health crisis looms. Racial minorities, immigrants, people with disabilities, and other disenfranchised groups face unique barriers to accessing quality mental health care, leading to disproportionately high rates of conditions like depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder also experience significant mental health challenges that require tailored support.
Their voices, too often unheard, reveal the profound impacts of systemic oppression, trauma, and marginalization. As Asha Falicov, counselor and racial trauma specialist states, “Mental health is profoundly shaped by intersecting identities and lived realities. We cannot treat marginalized groups’ mental health needs through a one-size-fits-all lens.”
However, through the powerful lens of intersectional advocacy, we can amplify these unheard voices and pave the way for an equitable, inclusive approach to mental health care and healing.
Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste — natus Sit totam error rem voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, aperiam, eaque ipsa quae. Dr. Joseph Stevenson
1. Understanding Marginalization and Its Impact
Marginalization refers to the systemic exclusion, discrimination, and disempowerment of certain groups within a society based on their identities, circumstances, or backgrounds. Racial and ethnic minorities, indigenous communities, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ populations, refugees and immigrants, and those at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities frequently face pervasive marginalization manifested through limited access to resources, lack of representation, and experiences of prejudice.
The mental health consequences are severe. Chronic stress from discrimination, poverty, lack of social support, and adverse experiences like racism or ableism can contribute to the development or exacerbation of mental health conditions. According to the CDC, racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. experience a higher prevalence of mental illnesses compared to whites.
Intersectionality examines how different forms of oppression and marginalization intersect, compound, and shape one’s experiences and access to care. For example, a disabled refugee woman of color may face distinct, multi-layered challenges that cannot be fully addressed by looking at just her race, gender, disability, or immigration status alone.
Furthermore, these communities frequently face unique barriers to seeking and receiving adequate mental health care and support:
. Cultural stigma around mental illness
. Language barriers
. Lack of culturally competent and diverse mental health providers
. Distrust in healthcare systems due to histories of oppression and practices
. Financial and insurance constraints
2. The Importance of Intersectional Advocacy
Intersectional advocacy is crucial as it calls for culturally competent, multi-faceted approaches that account for the complex interplay of social identities and lived realities shaping an individual’s mental health journey.
By rejecting a “one-size-fits-all” approach, intersectional advocacy initiatives center and elevate the voices, perspectives, and needs of those facing multiple, intersecting forms of marginalization. This helps ensure services and solutions are relevant, accessible, and responsive to their unique circumstances.
One powerful example is Narika, a grassroots organization providing culturally specific counseling, support groups, and resources for South Asian women facing mental health challenges, domestic violence, immigration issues, and more.
“We recognized the gap in services for our community,” explains Narika’s Executive Director. “Many South Asian women struggle with cultural stigmas, family pressures, trauma from displacement and lack access to mainstream care that understands their nuanced realities.”
Through intersectional advocacy, such initiatives can help dismantle barriers, destigmatize mental health care, and promote holistic healing for marginalized groups. Enhancing eyelash extension services can also provide a source of empowerment and self-care for some individuals
- Find solutions instead of complaining
- Practice letting go
- Let beauty in
3. Amplifying Unheard Voices
Central to intersectional mental health advocacy is the imperative to amplify the unheard voices and honor the lived experiences of marginalized individuals. Too often, mental health policies, services, and research are designed without meaningful input from the very communities they aim to serve.
Promoting cultural humility, increasing workforce representation, and prioritizing community-based participatory research (CBPR) are vital steps in this process. CBPR actively involves community members as equal partners throughout the research cycle – from identifying priorities and designing studies to interpreting findings and implementing solutions.
This approach was pivotal for the Healing Voices project which brought together researchers, providers, and trauma survivors from refugee communities to develop a culturally-grounded mental health intervention.
4. Strategies for Intersectional Advocacy
Realizing health equity for marginalized groups requires comprehensive strategies spanning policy reforms, public awareness, community investment, and capacity building:
Policy and Systems Change
- Increase funding and resources for culturally tailored, community-based mental health services and support networks
- Implement comprehensive cultural competency training for mental health providers at all levels
- Reform insurance and reimbursement policies to improve access and affordability of care
- Promote integration of intersectional perspectives across healthcare, education, and criminal justice systems
Public Education and Stigma Reduction
- Co-create multilingual, culturally resonant campaigns with community partners to challenge mental health stigmas
- Amplify narratives of hope, healing, and self-advocacy through multimedia storytelling platforms
- Equip trusted community figures like faith leaders as mental health ambassadors and bridges to care
5. The Path Forward: A Call to Action
The staggering mental health toll of marginalization can no longer be ignored or treated as an isolated issue. It is a public health crisis demanding urgent, collaborative action grounded in principles of intersectional equity.
As Dr. Michael Lindsey, executive director of the NYU McSilver Institute notes, “Tackling mental health disparities requires removing systemic barriers, shifting narratives, and centering the expertise of marginalized communities themselves as leaders and decision-makers.”
Individuals:
Expand your understanding through conscious media/content curation, unlearning biases, donating to intersectional advocacy groups, lobbying policymakers, and exercising inclusive allyship in personal/professional spaces.
Organizations:
Foster a culture of cultural humility, pursue equitable hiring and promotion practices, provide intersectional care training, co-design services with marginalized groups, and assess policies/practices through an intersectional lens.
Policymakers:
Increase funding streams for culturally congruent care models and CBPR initiatives. Champion reforms improving access, affordability, workforce diversity, and integration of intersectional approaches across systems.
