The Need for Mental Health Professionals That Look Like Our Brown and Black Communities

The Need for Latino Mental Health Professionals

There are currently less than 1% Latino mental health professionals. For every 100,000 people 

living in the United States, on average there are 29 Latino mental health care professionals serving the needs 

of our Latino community. ( American Psychological Association-Monitor in Psychology)  

Graduation season coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month and is the ideal opportunity to highlight the 

high demand career opportunities for students and graduates to consider. Between 2000 and 2015, the college-going rate among Hispanic high school graduates grew from 22 to 37 percent, according to the U.S. Department 

of Education. Hispanic undergraduate enrollment more than doubled, to 3 million. 

The Challenge: While mental health is second to technology in job creation in the US, the number of Latino students pursuing these degrees doesn’t mirror the demand in our diverse communities. The stigma within the Latino community of seeking mental health care is one of the reasons we might be seeing the disparity, shares 

Dr. Monica Wilson, Assistant Professor of Psychology at National University who also is the Chair for the 

Behavioral Health Commission for San Bernardino County.

 “I spend a lot of my time attending community forums and speaking with Latino parents. Education is important 

to them and they want to ensure their children are prepared for the future. Key to engaging with our Latino community will be attracting more bilingual, Latinos into the profession.” 

“43.8 million adults experience mental illness in a given year, that’s one in five Americans”

Andrea Loera, received her Master’s in Counseling Psychology from National University in 2016, and returned back to her community in Coachella to provide mental health services for Latino families. “There is a real need

in our community for bilingual, Latino mental health professionals. Slowly, Latinos are beginning to understand

that seeking mental health care doesn’t mean there is something wrong with them, and often times it is crucial to keeping families together, and the missing link to address depression, aggression and poor performance at 

school or work.” Loera adds, “Seeing a professional who looks like you and sounds like you has also been the catalyst for my patients, high school and college students to follow my footsteps and pursue a career in mental health.” 

Mental Health Intervention

The Inland Empire and every Southern California County has experienced an upward trend in mental health 

cases among people of all backgrounds. 43.8 million adults experience mental illness in a given year, that’s 

one in five Americans. Intervention is key: Only 44 percent of adults with diagnosable mental health problems

 will seek help. The disparity is greater among the Hispanic population, 85% of Hispanic immigrants who 

needed services remained untreated. (According to 2012 report, “Latino Health Care Disparities”, published

 by UC Davis Center for Reducing Healthcare Disparities. 

The demand for professionals in the mental health arena will continue to rise, academic institutions such as National University are refining programs to meet the needs of our diverse communities. 

Client Profile:

The Imagen Group is a Latino-owned multicultural marketing agency based in the Los Angles area. The Imagen Group provided the National University System with external affairs services to include Public Relations, Media Relations, and Community Engagement. Our area of expertise is reaching diverse communities such as Hispanic populations through collaboration with Spanish language news media and non profit organizations.

www.theimagengroup.com