Communities & identities

Black families and communities have long cared for one another through churches, extended family, barbershops and salons, mutual aid and the arts. These are real sources of strength and belonging.

In 2024, Black adults were 36% less likely than U.S. adults overall to receive mental health treatment. In 2023, Black high school students were 8% more likely than students nationwide to report attempting suicide in the past year. Young people especially deserve early, caring support.

Black-led places to look

• BEAM (Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective): education and training for Black healing
• Melanin & Mental Health: a directory of Black and Latinx therapists
• The Steve Fund: support for the mental health of students of color
• Therapy for Black Girls: an online space and therapist directory for Black women and girls

Many Latino and Hispanic families draw strength from close family ties, faith, music, food and shared celebrations. Families come from many countries, races and generations, and speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Indigenous languages, or a mix.

In 2024, Hispanic and Latino adults were 28% less likely than U.S. adults overall to receive mental health treatment. In 2023, Hispanic and Latina high school girls were 17% more likely than other U.S. girls to report attempting suicide in the past year.

Places to look

• 988 offers call, text and chat in Spanish. When texting, send AYUDA to reach Spanish-speaking counselors.
• Latinx Therapy: a directory of culturally affirming therapists for the Latine community
• Melanin & Mental Health: a directory of Black and Latinx therapists

Asian American communities include people with roots in dozens of countries, from families here for generations to people who just arrived. Values like family loyalty, hard work and respect for elders are often sources of pride and support.

In 2024, Asian American adults were 45% less likely than U.S. adults overall to receive mental health treatment. Stigma, pressure to succeed, language and the “model minority” stereotype can make it harder to say “I’m struggling.”

Places to look

• Asian Mental Health Collective: a directory of Asian therapists across the U.S.
• National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA)

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities include many distinct peoples, languages and island homes. For many, wellbeing is tied to family (including extended family), land, ocean, ancestors and community.

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander needs can get lost when people are grouped under one big label. It is fair to ask a provider whether they have worked with Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander families before.

Places to look

• Community health centers and cultural organizations in your area
• National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA)

People with more than one racial or cultural heritage often carry a rich mix of traditions, languages and family stories. Some also feel pushed to “pick a side,” or are asked “What are you?” again and again.

What can help

• Connecting with other mixed-heritage people, online or in person
• Learning about each side of your family’s history at your own pace
• Remembering you get to describe your identity in your own words
• Telling family when comments about your looks or background hurt

There are 574 federally recognized tribes, and about 9.7 million American Indian and Alaska Native people were counted in the 2020 Census. Each nation has its own language, traditions and history.

Mental Health America lists reactions such as sadness, hopelessness, anger or irritability, reliving what happened, nightmares or poor sleep, trouble focusing, feeling always on guard, avoiding certain places or people, and body signs like headaches or muscle tension.

Being followed in a store, having your name mispronounced on purpose, being complimented on your English when it is your first language, or being treated as the spokesperson for your whole group. One moment can seem small. Many moments, over years, can wear a person down.

What can help

• Naming it to yourself: “That was not okay, and it was not about me.”
• Talking it through with someone who gets it
• Choosing when to respond and when to protect your energy
• Writing it down if you may want to report it later

Racial trauma can come from media coverage and online content too. Seeing videos of violence or hateful comments again and again can keep your body on high alert.

Ways to set limits

• Turn off autoplay for videos
• Choose set times to check the news, not all day
• Mute or unfollow accounts that leave you feeling worse
• Balance hard news with things that bring you joy

Ideas from Mental Health America

• Boundaries: decide where you go, who you engage with, and how much news you take in
• Community: lean on your culture, traditions and people who share your experience
• Grounding: hobbies, prayer or meditation that help you feel centered
• Self-care: rest, movement you enjoy and small daily habits
• Talking: share what happened with people you trust

Children may hear hurtful words at school, online or in the news. Talking openly and calmly helps them make sense of it and know they are loved and valued.

Ideas for parents and carers

• Ask open questions: “Has anything happened at school that felt unfair?”
• Tell them clearly: “It is not your fault. There is nothing wrong with who you are.”
• Share stories, books and heroes from your culture
• Help them plan what to do and who to tell if it happens again

Directories listed by NAMI

• Asian Mental Health Collective (asianmhc.org): Asian therapists across the U.S.
• Latinx Therapy (latinxtherapy.com): therapists for the Latine community
• Melanin & Mental Health (melaninandmentalhealth.com): Black and Latinx therapists
• Therapy for Black Girls (therapyforblackgirls.com): therapists for Black women and girls

• “Have you worked with people from my background before?”
• “How will you respect my culture and faith in our work together?”
• “Can we talk about racism or discrimination if it comes up?”
• “Do you offer sessions in my language, or work with interpreters?”
• “How do you keep my information private?”

Many clinics and hospitals offer free interpreters. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, services must provide aids like sign language interpreters, captions, braille or large print when needed to communicate, and cannot require you to bring your own interpreter.

Tips

• Ask for a trained interpreter, not a family member or child
• Ask for written materials in your language
• Telehealth can widen your choice of providers who speak your language

For many people, prayer, ceremony, elders, faith leaders or traditional healers are part of staying well. A good provider will ask about these and respect them, not dismiss them.

The Steve Fund focuses on the mental health and emotional wellbeing of young people of color, including college students. Many campuses also have cultural centers and affinity groups where students can find belonging.

Waiting on paperwork, court dates or rule changes can keep the body’s stress system “switched on” for a long time. When stress never fully turns off, people may have trouble sleeping, headaches, stomach problems, irritability, or a feeling of always being on guard.

What can help

• Get information from trusted legal services, not rumors
• Keep small daily routines: meals, prayer, a walk, a call with family
• Limit how often you check the news or social media
• Practice slow breathing when worry spikes (see the Breathing basics guide)
• Separate what you can control from what you cannot. Write both lists down.

Many immigrants live apart from parents, partners or children for years. Some send money home and carry the weight of supporting two households. Others live with the fear that their family could be split apart. This can bring grief, guilt and constant worry.

Children feel this too, even when adults try to hide it. They may become clingy, quiet, angry, or worried about a parent leaving for work.

What can help

• Keep regular contact with loved ones, even short messages
• Lean on extended family, neighbors, faith groups and community organizations
• Make a family safety plan, so children know who will care for them in an emergency
• Talk with children in calm, simple words, and let them ask questions

APA lists many reasons immigrants may delay getting health care: no insurance, money worries, language and cultural barriers, fear of detention or deportation, and fear of discrimination. Some people worry that a counselor cannot help because the real problem is their immigration situation.

Ways around some barriers

• Ask for a free interpreter. Many clinics and hospitals offer them.
• Ask local immigrant-serving, cultural or faith organizations which counselors they trust
• Look for community health centers and free clinics, which often charge based on income. Call ahead to ask what they need from you.
• Try online or phone counseling if travel or time is a problem

Stress often eases a little when you understand your situation. But immigration law is complicated, and some people pretend to be experts to take advantage of families. Getting help from a qualified source matters.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s immigration court office (EOIR) publishes a list of non-profit organizations and attorneys who give free (pro bono) legal help to people in immigration court. It is organized by court location and updated four times a year. EOIR does not endorse any provider, so it is still wise to ask questions.

Tips

• Be careful of anyone who promises a guaranteed result
• Keep copies of every document you give or receive
• Never sign papers you do not understand. Ask for an interpreter.

Refugees have been forced to leave their homes because of war, violence or persecution. Many have lived through frightening events, lost loved ones, and spent years waiting in uncertain places. Then they must start over in a new country, language and culture.

APA describes how fear for personal safety, loss of control and uncertainty about the future can contribute to anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, sometimes long after arrival. At the same time, many refugees show deep strength, and healing is very possible with time, safety and support.

What often helps

• Learning the language at a gentle pace
• Meaningful work, study or volunteering
• Reconnecting with family and with people from the same culture
• Safety, stable housing and meeting basic needs first
• Trauma-informed care, ideally in your own language or with a trained interpreter

An asylum seeker has fled their country and is asking another country for protection, but their claim has not yet been decided. WHO lists uncertain legal status, separation from family, poor living conditions and, in some cases, detention among the stresses that can affect mental health after arrival.

What can help

• Build a small daily routine that you control: waking time, meals, prayer, a walk
• Learn something new while you wait, like a language, a skill or volunteering where allowed
• Set a “paperwork time” once a day, and try to rest your mind outside it
• Stay connected with people who understand the wait
• Write down three things you did each day, so time doesn’t blur together

Telling your story again and again, for interviews and court, can bring painful memories back to the surface. It is normal to feel shaken, numb or exhausted afterwards. Plan something gentle for after each appointment if you can.

WHO highlights several things linked to better mental health for refugees and migrants: being part of a community with a shared background, children attending school, and having secure income, housing, legal status and food. APA notes that immigrants living in states with more welcoming policies report better mental health. Belonging matters.

Places to look for support

• Community health centers and free clinics
• Community health workers and promotores, who help people find care
• Faith communities, cultural centers and hometown associations
• Refugee and immigrant service organizations, which may help with housing, food and legal referrals

WHO notes that language barriers, not knowing what’s available, and worries about confidentiality often stop refugees and migrants from getting mental health care. These worries are understandable, especially for people who have learned not to trust authorities.

Tips

• Ask for a trained interpreter, not a family member or child, for health visits
• Before you share, ask how your information is stored and who can see it
• Look for trauma-informed counselors who work with displaced people
• Phone or online support can help if travel is hard

Ways to help

• Don’t ask for their story. Let them share what they want, when they want.
• Help them find qualified legal and health services, rather than giving legal opinions yourself
• Include them in ordinary life: a walk, a game, a family meal
• Keep showing up through the long wait, not just at the start
• Offer practical help: rides to appointments, help reading letters, a meal, a quiet place to rest

Try to avoid

• Asking “Why didn’t you come the legal way?”
• Promising things will turn out fine. You can’t know that, and it can feel dismissive.
• Sharing their situation with others without permission

Counseling does not have to look one way. It can happen in your first language, by video, with an interpreter, alongside faith or traditional healing, or in a group with people who share your background.

SAMHSA and NAD both call for culturally responsive care that fits the people it serves.

Government data show that Black, Hispanic and Asian American adults all get mental health treatment less often than U.S. adults overall. Low treatment rates often reflect barriers and stigma, not a lack of need.

Much of the stress people feel comes from barriers and low expectations, not from deafness, blindness or disability itself. When access, skills and community are in place, people thrive.

What makes the difference

• Access to language, information and technology
• Being expected to succeed
• Belonging to a community of peers
• Care from providers who understand

Many communities value toughness, self-reliance or keeping problems within the family. Those values can be strengths. But carrying everything alone can wear anyone down.

Getting support is one way of protecting the people who depend on you. Strong farmers, students, parents and Elders all need backup sometimes.

988 is for everyone, free, confidential and open 24/7. It offers call, text and chat in English and Spanish, and ASL by videophone.

For counseling, it is fine to ask about privacy before you share anything. A good provider will explain what they keep private and the few safety exceptions.

Try

• “How are you really doing with everything?”
• “That sounds exhausting. I’m glad you told me.”
• “What would help this week?”
• “I’d love to hear about home, if you’d like to share.”

Many people from close-knit cultures, rural places or Deaf and disabled communities have been misunderstood by outsiders before. Showing curiosity, patience and respect for how they see their own life builds trust.

• “You should be grateful to be here.”
• “Your English is so good!” (it can feel like being treated as an outsider)
• “You don’t look disabled.”
• “Where are you really from?”
• “Everyone has stress, get over it.”

These comments can make people feel unseen, or that their struggles don’t count. Experiences of discrimination are linked with worse mental health and can stop people seeking help.

• Help fill in forms, or read official letters together
• Help find an interpreter, captioning, or accessible formats
• Help look for telehealth if the nearest counselor is far away
• Offer a ride to an appointment, or keep them company there
• Share trusted local services: community health centers, cultural groups, legal aid

If you see someone being treated unfairly, your support matters. You don’t need perfect words. Checking in with the person afterwards can mean a lot.

• Ask the person what they would like you to do, if anything
• Check in afterwards: “That wasn’t okay. Are you alright?”
• If it is safe, calmly say “That’s not okay”
• Keep learning about communities other than your own

Hearing about danger, loss or discrimination can be heavy, especially if it echoes your own experiences. It’s okay to feel sad, angry or tired. Supporting someone over the long haul works best when you also look after yourself.

• Keep up the things that refill you: rest, faith, nature, friends
• Know your limits, and share the load with others or with services
• Remember you don’t have to fix everything. Being present matters.
• Talk to someone you trust about how it affects you