On its “Talk of the Nation” segment, NPR (8/21) reported, “Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder has focused attention on the shame that sometimes accompanies mental health diagnoses in the African-American community.” NPR’s John Donvan interviewed psychiatrist William Lawson, MD, PhD, professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University College of Medicine, who discussed the reasons why such stigma may exist, including the fact that many African-Americans “may believe that to be mentally ill is a sign of weakness or a sign of a character fault.” Dr. Lawson also pointed out that fewer than two percent of US psychiatrists are African-American.
Related Links:
— “Behind Mental Health Stigmas In Black Communities,NPR, August 20, 2012.