Welcome from the Director

Culture and Mental Health Disparities Lab

Highlights from the past year

We have had a busy and productive year at the lab for Culture and Mental Health Disparities (CMHD), now located in the School of Psychology at University of Ottawa. Over the last year, the CMHD gained 3 excellent doctoral students in clinical psychology, pursuing research and clinical training related to mental health disparities, under my direct supervision. Also involved in our work are 4 additional uOttawa doctoral students (3 in Psychology and 1 in Neuroscience), 2 undergraduates, and students from the University of Connecticut. In 2020, the CMHD published 12 scholarly articles, with an additional 5 accepted for publication. Our students presented posters at scientific conferences and gave talks, often online due to Covid-19 restrictions.

We look toward 2021 with a renewed commitment to combatting mental health disparities in all of its forms.

What is a mental health disparity?

If a health outcome is seen in a greater or lesser extent between different populations, there is disparity. Mental health disparities may be observed between groups with respect to the quality, accessibility, and outcomes of mental health care. Although the term “disparities” often is interpreted to mean racial or ethnic disparities, many dimensions of disparity exist in the United States. For example, people may experience a mental health disparity due to gender, religion, sexual orientation, or the nature of their ailment.

What causes mental health disparities?

There are many forms of disparities, including economic disparities, educational disparities, disparities in the workforce, health disparities, and, more specifically, mental health disparities. All these disparities are interconnected. For example, a disadvantaged group member may have fewer educational opportunities (educational disparity) that leads to a less prestigious job post-graduation (workforce disparity), which in turn leads to decreased income (economic disparity), leading to reduced access to medical services and poorer health outcomes (health disparity).

There is one example if this dynamic that hits particularly close to home. In the US, only 5% of psychology doctorates are awarded to Black Americans, which represents an enormous educational disparity, given the population of Blacks in the US is 12.6%. This, in turn, results in a workforce disparity in terms of African American psychologists available for clinical service and academic positions. As African Americans are more likely to teach and study conditions pertinent to African Americans, the workforce disparity results in fewer scholars available to educate clinicians in mental health issues relevant to that population. For example, in 2015 I was pleased to be the first minority female to receive a tenure in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville in its 108 year history. However, the lack of additional minority faculty perpetuates a lack of knowledge about psychological issues as they pertain to ethnic and racial minorities, leading to mental health disparities on multiple levels (i.e., study recruitment, research findings, knowledge of effective interventions, etc.). In the US, only 4% of full-time professors are Blacks, and only 1.5% of APA members are Black.

What are we doing to address mental health disparities?

Mental health disparities are caused by many factors. Here are few we are studying at the CMHD:

Barriers to treatment caused by shame and stigma
Barriers to treatment caused by misdiagnosis
Cultural differences in help-seeking for mental health care
Cultural differences in the experience and expression of psychopathology
Cultural differences in assessment and measurement of psychological disorders
Race-based trauma and cultural adaptations to treatment
Cultural competence in research study design, recruitment, and data analysis
Cultural competence in the provision of mental health care services

In addition to research in these areas, the CMHD lab continues to offer workshops aimed at training the next generation of clinicians in culturally competent assessment and treatment techniques. We aim to change the current psychological landscape through cutting-edge, culturally-informed research. We are proud of the work we have done to date and invite you to join with us in our mission to eliminate mental health disparities.

Sincerely,
Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D., Director
Laboratory for Culture and Mental Health Disparities
Canada Research Chair for Mental Health Disparities
Associate Professor of Psychology
University of Ottawa