BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month: Culture, Stigma, and the Cost of Carrying It Alone
- Matthew Herrera
- 7 hours ago
- 9 min read
July is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to reflect on mental health, culture, identity, stigma, access to care, and the emotional experiences of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.
This month is connected to the legacy of Bebe Moore Campbell, a writer, advocate, and mental health trailblazer who worked to bring greater attention to mental health care in communities of color. Congress formally recognized July as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in 2008, and the language around this month has continued to evolve as many organizations now use BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month to better reflect the communities being discussed (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.).
The Mental Health Coalition’s “Reclaim Your Roots” campaign frames this month around the idea that history can be a source of strength, connection, and healing (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.). I appreciate that framing because mental health is never separate from culture, family, history, community, or identity.
As a Latinx male clinician, this topic feels both professional and personal. In my own path toward becoming a therapist, I have often been drawn to the stories people carry: family stories, cultural stories, survival stories, and the quieter emotional stories that do not always get spoken out loud.
Before becoming a therapist, much of my academic work focused on history, memory, and meaning-making. That lens still shapes the way I understand therapy. Healing is not only about reducing symptoms. It is also about understanding where we come from, what we inherited, what we had to survive, and what we are allowed to reclaim.
For many people, especially in BIPOC communities, therapy is not simply about “feeling better.” It can also be about reconnecting with parts of the self that may have been minimized, silenced, misunderstood, or disconnected from care.
What the Data Tells Us About BIPOC Mental Health
Mental health challenges affect people across race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and age. But access to care is not equal.
According to the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service’s July 2024 BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month campaign, BIPOC communities face unnecessary barriers to mental health care. These barriers may be connected to systemic racism inside and outside of health care, as well as economic, geographic, and linguistic obstacles (Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service, 2024).
The same campaign highlights several important data points:
43% of Black people living in the United States attempt to manage mental health challenges on their own rather than seeing a therapist.
47% of Hispanic people living in the United States attempt to manage mental health challenges on their own rather than seeing a therapist.
By comparison, 35% of white people attempt to manage mental health challenges on their own rather than seeing a therapist.
Only 25% of Asian American and Pacific Islanders receive mental health treatment.
Indigenous people experience disproportionately higher rates of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
These numbers are painful because they tell a familiar story: many BIPOC people are struggling, but too many are carrying that struggle alone.
That does not happen in a vacuum.
It happens in the context of stigma, cost, access barriers, language barriers, provider availability, mistrust of systems, cultural silence, family pressure, and the fear of being misunderstood.
The Cost of Managing Mental Health Alone
When so many Black and Hispanic people report trying to manage mental health challenges on their own, it reminds us that not going to therapy does not always mean someone does not need therapy.
Sometimes people do need support, but there are reasons they have learned not to seek it.
For many BIPOC clients, the decision to start therapy can carry extra emotional weight. A person may wonder:
Will this therapist understand my culture?
Will I have to explain everything?
Will my family judge me?
Will talking about family pain feel like betrayal?
Will I be pathologized?
Will I be believed?
Will therapy actually feel safe?
Will I be able to afford it?
These questions matter because mental health care is not only about availability. It is also about trust.
What Does BIPOC Mean?
The Mental Health Coalition uses the term “BIPOC” to refer to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, including people of Black, Indigenous American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latin American, Middle Eastern, and North African descent (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.).
At the same time, the organization acknowledges that no single term can fully capture the diversity of all communities of color. Not every person identifies with the same language, and not all terms are interchangeable (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.).
That distinction matters.
Mental health care should never flatten people into categories. Culture, race, ethnicity, immigration history, language, religion, family values, gender, sexuality, class, and lived experience all shape how someone understands themselves and their emotional life.
Good therapy makes room for that complexity.
Stigma Does Not Look the Same in Every Community
Mental health stigma can show up differently across communities. Mental Health America describes stigma as a negative or discriminatory attitude about mental health, and it notes that cultural beliefs, family expectations, religious views, and community norms can all shape whether someone feels safe asking for help (Mental Health America, n.d.).
In some Black communities, seeking mental health care may be viewed through messages about spiritual or moral weakness, or compared against the historical survival of slavery and segregation.
In some Indigenous communities, people may worry that seeking support could be viewed as weakness or could bring shame to the family.
In some Latinx and Hispanic communities, privacy can become a major barrier. Mental Health America references the familiar phrase “la ropa sucia se lava en casa,” which is similar to “don’t air your dirty laundry in public” (Mental Health America, n.d.). In that context, therapy can feel like exposing something that was supposed to stay inside the family.
In some Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, the model minority myth can create pressure to appear successful, capable, and emotionally contained. Sharing mental health struggles outside the family may also be viewed as shameful or disloyal.
In some multiracial communities, people may experience stigma from multiple communities while also navigating alienation or feeling as though they are not “enough” within parts of their identity.
In some Arab and Middle Eastern communities, mental health challenges may be viewed as personal failure, spiritual punishment, or something that could lead to alienation from family or community.
These patterns are not reasons to stereotype communities. They are reminders that stigma is cultural, relational, historical, and emotional.
My Perspective as a Latinx Male Clinician
As a Latinx male clinician, I think often about how culture can hold both strength and pressure.
Family loyalty, sacrifice, humor, faith, food, resilience, community, and hard work can be deeply protective. These values can help people survive painful circumstances and stay connected to something larger than themselves.
At the same time, some cultural messages can make it harder to name pain.
In many families, people learn to keep things private. They learn to push through. They learn to be grateful. They learn not to burden others. They learn that family problems stay inside the family.
For some people, that silence becomes heavy.
This is part of why culturally responsive therapy matters. Therapy should not ask people to reject their culture. It should help them understand which parts of their culture nourish them, which parts shaped them, and which inherited patterns may need to be questioned with compassion.
This work connects to my broader clinical identity: helping people understand the internal landscapes shaped by anxiety, trauma, shame, family history, relationships, sexuality, masculinity, identity, and survival.
Therapy should not ask people to leave their culture at the door. It should help people bring more of themselves into the room.
Why Culture Matters in Mental Health
Mental health does not exist in a vacuum.
Our emotional lives are shaped by family systems, cultural expectations, community stories, intergenerational experiences, and the ways we learned to survive. For BIPOC communities, mental health may also be shaped by racism, discrimination, immigration stress, cultural disconnection, historical trauma, family pressure, religious or spiritual traditions, and stigma around therapy.
In many families and communities, emotional pain is not always named directly.
It may show up through silence.
Through work ethic.
Through humor.
Through caretaking.
Through faith.
Through food.
Through responsibility.
Through “just keep going.”
Culturally responsive therapy does not pathologize those patterns. It asks where they came from, how they helped, and whether they still serve the person today.
The Tension Between Strength and Silence
Many BIPOC clients grow up with messages about being strong, grateful, private, respectful, loyal, or self-sacrificing. Sometimes those values are deeply meaningful.
Sometimes they become emotionally expensive. A client may wonder:
Can I talk about family pain without betraying my family?
Can I set boundaries and still be a good son, daughter, partner, parent, or sibling?
Can I honor my culture while questioning patterns that hurt me?
Can I be proud of where I come from and still name what was missing?
Can I seek therapy without feeling like I failed?
These are not small questions, and often these questions are at the heart of culturally responsive therapy.
Everyday Healing and Reclaiming Your Roots
One of the most meaningful parts of The Mental Health Coalition’s campaign is its focus on everyday healing. The campaign highlights culturally rooted healing practices such as listening to cultural music, dancing, gardening, cooking, faith practices, tea rituals, and other everyday rituals that reconnect people with their roots (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.).
For some people, healing may look like reconnecting with cultural traditions. For others, it may mean creating new rituals because old ones were lost, interrupted, or never fully passed down.
Therapy can support this process, but it does not replace culture, community, or ancestral wisdom. At its best, therapy can help people reconnect with themselves while honoring the cultural and relational worlds that shaped them.
Therapy for Anxiety, Trauma, Relationships, and Identity
Many people begin therapy because they are struggling with anxiety, trauma, depression, OCD, relationship stress, or burnout. But underneath those symptoms, there may also be deeper questions about identity, belonging, family expectations, shame, cultural disconnection, or feeling caught between worlds.
Therapy can help with:
Anxiety and overthinking
Trauma and Complex PTSD
OCD and intrusive thoughts
Relationship patterns
Dating anxiety
Family-of-origin stress
Intergenerational trauma
Cultural identity and belonging
Burnout and perfectionism
Emotional regulation
Boundaries and communication
For BIPOC clients, culturally responsive therapy can be especially important because healing is not only about what hurts. It is also about what has been inherited, protected, hidden, survived, and reclaimed.
Culturally Responsive Therapy Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Culturally responsive therapy does not assume that all BIPOC clients have the same experiences.
It means therapy should be collaborative, respectful, curious, and aware of how culture, identity, power, family, and systemic stressors shape mental health.
It also means the therapist should be willing to listen, learn, and avoid making assumptions.
For some clients, culture is central to therapy.
For others, it may only be one part of the larger picture.
Some clients want to talk directly about race, identity, and family history. Others want support for anxiety, trauma, relationships, OCD, or depression without feeling reduced to identity categories.
Both are valid.
The goal is to create room for the full person.
Reclaiming Healing Beyond Survival
Many people learn how to survive before they learn how to feel.
They learn how to achieve, perform, care for others, stay quiet, stay useful, stay strong, or stay acceptable.
But survival is not the same as healing.
Healing may mean learning how to rest without guilt.
Setting boundaries without shame.
Naming pain without minimizing it.
Letting yourself be supported.
Reconnecting with cultural practices that feel grounding.
Releasing inherited expectations that no longer fit.
Building relationships where you do not have to disappear to belong.
BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month reminds us that healing can include both
professional support and cultural reconnection. It can include therapy, but also music, food, language, ceremony, community, storytelling, movement, faith, and everyday rituals that remind us who we are.
Therapy That Makes Room for the Whole Person
I provide online therapy throughout California and in-person therapy in Pasadena for clients navigating anxiety, OCD, trauma, relationship issues, dating anxiety, family stress, burnout, identity concerns, and major life transitions.
My approach is collaborative, culturally responsive, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and grounded in curiosity and care.
I work with teens, adults, couples, families, high achievers, creatives, entertainment industry professionals, and people who are seeking deeper self-understanding and meaningful change.
Depending on your goals, therapy may include:
Brainspotting
ERP for OCD
Complex trauma work
Somatic approaches
Gottman Method Level 1-informed couples therapy
Relational and attachment-focused therapy
If you are looking for therapy that makes room for your symptoms, your story, your relationships, and your identity, therapy can be a space to begin that work with more honesty and support.
To learn more, visit www.therapywithmattherrera.com.
Frequently Asked Questions About BIPOC Mental Health
What is BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month?
BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month takes place in July and is connected to the legacy of Bebe Moore Campbell, whose advocacy helped bring national attention to mental health equity for communities of color (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.).
What does BIPOC mean?
BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. The Mental Health Coalition uses the term while also acknowledging that no single term fully captures the diversity of all communities of color (The Mental Health Coalition, n.d.).
What are common barriers to BIPOC mental health care?
Common barriers can include stigma, cost, lack of culturally responsive care, mistrust of systems, language barriers, geographic access, provider availability, family privacy norms, and fear of being misunderstood (Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service, 2024; Mental Health America, n.d.).
Why is culturally responsive therapy important?
Culturally responsive therapy recognizes that mental health is shaped by culture, family, identity, community, systemic stress, and lived experience. It helps create space for the whole person rather than treating symptoms in isolation.
Can therapy include conversations about family, culture, and identity?
Yes. Therapy can include conversations about cultural identity, family expectations, intergenerational trauma, relationships, boundaries, anxiety, shame, belonging, and healing.
Do you offer online therapy across California?
Yes. I offer online therapy throughout California and in-person therapy in Pasadena.
References
Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service. (2024). July: Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Mental Health Awareness Month. U.S. Department of Defense. https://www.dcpas.osd.mil/sites/default/files/2024-11/july_2024-dod_work-life_health_and_wellness_campaign_-_dcpas_copy_pdf_only.final_-_508.pdf.
Mental Health America. (n.d.). Breaking down mental health stigma in BIPOC communities. https://mhanational.org/resources/breaking-down-mental-health-stigma-in-bipoc-communities/.
The Mental Health Coalition. (n.d.). Reclaim your roots. https://www.thementalhealthcoalition.org/reclaim-your-roots/.
