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Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Mental Health Proceedings of a Workshop (2020) / Chapter Skim
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3 Recruiting and Supporting a Diverse Workforce
Pages 25-34

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From page 25...
... • The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration states that the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) was created in 1973 in order to increase the number of ethnic minorities in mental health professions and to provide more culturally compe tent care to an increasingly ethnically diverse population in the United States.
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From page 26...
... at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is designed in part to address this issue, said Wendi Schweiger, director of international capacity building at the National Board for Certified Counselors, Inc.
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From page 27...
... THE NEED FOR MINORITY MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Workshop participants heard from three individuals associated with the MFP, each of whom discussed the importance of minority mental health professionals. Robert Horne, assistant professor of counselor education and director of the Addiction Studies Certificate Program at North Carolina Central University, said that there are approximately 60 million people with a mental health or substance use disorder, yet there are only approximately 260,000 qualified counselors for this population (BLS, 2019)
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From page 28...
... CRITICAL ELEMENTS The speakers discussed many elements they identified as critical for recruiting, supporting, retaining, and promoting a diverse workforce, including the following: • Organizational support • Opportunity to be authentic • Support for students and professionals • Integration with community • Mentorship • Community definitions of well-being and success • Self-care and support Organizational Support Building an educational program centered on social determinants and community engagement, Horne said, requires educational institutions to be on board and to be ready for change. Sometimes the institution is simply not ready, he said, but there are ways to move forward anyway.
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From page 29...
... Supporting students includes addressing class and privilege in predominantly white institutions, ensuring that the curriculum is not geared toward educating primarily non-Hispanic white students, and making certain that minority students feel seen, heard, and understood in their institutions and classes. A more diverse faculty -- from instructors to deans -- can help minority students feel more represented and less isolated, Nguyen said.
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From page 30...
... Horne added that community engagement can be accomplished through less traditional means as well -- such as volunteering as a coach -- and that simply getting involved can help break down the stigma of mental health counseling. Mentorship BigFoot discussed the importance of mentoring and said that her life trajectory -- from growing up in a poor, rural, multi-generational home to becoming a professor, director, and leader in her field -- would not have been possible without mentorship, support, and encouragement from others.
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From page 31...
... candidate. In her work, BigFoot said, she has had the opportunity to formally mentor and support students and professionals through supervising postdoctoral residents and offering practicum experiences at the Indian Country Child Trauma Center.
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From page 32...
... She continued that, in addition to seeking and acknowledging community and patient definitions of well-being, it is important for health professionals to define their own ideas of well-being and what professional success means to them. Horne cautioned that while mentors can help young professionals forge a path ahead, ultimately, professionals are responsible for creating a space for themselves within the profession and for ensuring that the space is in line with their authentic selves.
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From page 33...
... BigFoot added that perhaps the word "self-care" is the wrong word to use because it implies individual responsibility. People in the helping professions need support and resources in order to "do the job at the level they would like to do it." Launette Woolford, vice president of Northwell Health, added that while focusing on addressing the SDMH of patients and clients is important, health professionals must place equal importance on addressing the mental health of the workforce itself.
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Key Terms

  • minority fellowship
  • fellowship program
  • diverse workforce
  • social determinants
  • health professions

  • social workers
  • organizations representing
  • substance abuse
  • minority mental
  • behavioral health

  • minority students
  • administer minority
  • minority faculty
  • community engagement
  • ethnically diverse

  • increasingly ethnically
  • summer camp
  • bigfoot added
  • drum beat
  • health counseling

  • health educators
  • define health
  • becoming health
  • health professional
  • oklahoma health

  • various health
  • health disciplines
  • health counselors
  • northwell health
  • encouraged health


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