Toward Wellness: The Status of School-Based Mental Health Initiatives in Virginia
May 14, 2024
This is a guest blog post written by Olivya Wilson, MSW, LCSW, the Parent Engagement Coordinator for Greater Richmond SCAN. This is part two of a two-part series. Read part one on the impact of having clinicians of color.
We want to raise awareness about the importance of having mental health professionals of color and why children in particular need clinicians who present and reflect their same racial and ethnic experiences. This post focuses on the recruitment of clinicians of color, barriers to recruitment and how you can be an advocate.
Intentional Recruitment of Clinicians of Color
As mentioned in the first part of this series, there is a shortage of Black and Brown mental health providers and those that do exist can be difficult to access, especially depending on where you live. So, in addition to raising awareness about the need for more mental health professionals of color, we have to speak to why there is a shortage. One of the reasons is recruitment and retention. The mental health arena consists of many types of job settings and positions and for a long time, the field has not been intentional about recruiting Black and Brown people. While better efforts have been made with the help of increased conversations about diversity, inclusion and equity, we still have some ways to go to close the gap.
Barriers to Recruiting and Retaining Mental Health Professionals of Color
The Reach of Job Postings
I have benefited from recruitment efforts that involved being personally referred for a job opening by an inside person. This is a common practice in the mental health field especially in the non-profit world. I don’t knock this kind of recruitment effort, however I do have a problem with it being providers’ primary or sole recruitment strategy especially if the organization or agency’s staff is predominately white and have little or no connections to other professionals of color. This will not help reach more clinicians of color. Intentional recruitment of clinicians of color requires diversifying the places/platforms where job opportunities are posted. Posting jobs in places that attract the same pool of applicants every time and then simply concluding that Black and Brown clinicians don’t apply for whatever biased reason is a barrier.
Fair and Equitable Pay
Traditionally, the mental health care field has been known to have low to average paying positions. Though we are beginning to see increases in pay, we still need to consider the equity implications for why White mental health clinicians generally would be more likely to accept a lower paying job than clinician of colors. Funding for Black and Brown mental health providers to start businesses of their own is also a barrier.
Discrimination
We cannot deny that workplace discrimination continues to occur and when it does, the discrimination is mostly based on race and sexual orientation, which is reflected in a 2017 Report from the Behavioral Health Workforce. This report highlights that discrimination against the client population also deters mental health clinicians of color from working with particular employers or is a factor that leads to them leaving their job.
Call to Action
What you can do? Mental health providers of color can connect with/join area chapters of organizations like the National Association of Black Social Workers, National Association of Black Psychologists, and National Association of Black Counselors. Membership benefits can include networking, educational opportunities, mentorship, greater access to job referrals/job postings, and other community resources, just to name a few. These associations often have directories and other resources that can help community members of color find Black and Brown mental health providers in their areas. Additionally, the aforementioned associations oftentimes have student chapters at various colleges and universities that allow students of color to get connected to strong professional networks which helps prepare them for the workforce post-graduation.
We can create pipeline structures for future mental health professionals of color by increasing exposure about employment opportunities in the mental health field to Black and Brown youth as early as possible. Increased positive experiences between Black and Brown clients and mental health providers who reflect their ethnicity and cultural norms can lead to increased interest and desire for people of color to enter the field. White providers working toward intentional recruitment of clinicians of color can reach out to local Historically Black Colleges and Universities and connect with their Department of Field Education and Career Centers to share job/internship opportunities. Go to these places and participate in their job fairs, build relationships with the Schools of Psychology, Social Work, Counseling, etc.
Last, but not least, keep addressing systemic racism and its impacts on Black and Brown people. Invest in more trainings for administrators and employees that address biases, structural racism and other barriers to achieving equity, inclusion and diversity in the workplace. Advocate for more equitable funders/funding sources so Black and Brown mental health providers don’t have to continue struggling to effectively meet the needs of their communities.
Referenced Articles/Websites
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/09/increasing-providers-color
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