Counselor aims remove barriers to mental health for Latinx Bronson Health’s Priscila Dieguez-Moya offers counselling in Spanish Priscila Dieguez-Moya knows what it means to be far away from home and family. A counselor at Bronson HelpNet Behavioral Health Specialists in Battle Creek, she says that as an Argentinian, she better understands the feelings and anxieties of patients who left their own native countries. “I’m an immigrant myself. I miss my friends, my family,” she said. “I understand what you are going through. I experienced it. I experienced it at the beginning when my English was not perfect. …I think when we’re talking about feelings and about how deep we feel, or depressed or sad, I think it’s important that someone understands you without interpretation.” BARRIERS TO TREATMENT Dieguez-Moya is one of the few bilingual licensed professional counselors in the region. Born and raised in San Nicolás in the Buenos Aires Providence of Argentina, she came to Michigan to further her studies and pursue a career in healthcare. She said she is one of four counselors who are fluent in Spanish at Bronson Health, which offers free translation services for limited English proficient patients and families by phone (269-341-7654), tablet or in-person. An overall lack of healthcare providers who are fluent in Spanish is one of the barriers to mental health treatment for many Latinx. Other factors include higher poverty rates – particularly among recent Hispanic immigrants; the cost of therapy; a shortage of culturally relevant mental health services; and cultural stigmas. According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 22% of Latinx reported having a mental illness, compared to 23.9% of non-Hispanic whites. However, only 36% of Latinx received mental health services compared to 52% of non-Hispanic whites. “A lot of it is the language barrier,” Dieguez-Moya said. “I always say the person can be totally sad, depressed and crying and expressing it in their own language, and the interpreter could tell you without any emptions or anything. That connection you make with someone, the rapport that you feel with someone in the same language is totally different.” Due in part to cultural taboos, Dieguez-Moya said that very few of her Latinx patients are men. “Men can be lonely too,” she said. “I think that’s the part of the immigrant that society doesn’t see; the loneliness that you feel you left behind your language, your family support, even your food, everything that is your culture that you can find here, but it’s not the same.” Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions impacting the Latino community. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among Latinx ages 10 to 24, and for men ages 25 to 34. “I think it’s hard for the Latinx community to ask for help,” Dieguez-Moya said. “There is a lot of taboo about mental health. There is a lot of, ‘You’re crazy if you go to a counselor,’ or ‘You have family, why don’t you talk to your family?’
Counselor aims remove barriers to mental health for Latinx
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.