The Washington Post (5/23, Gorman) “Health & Science” blog reported that “when it comes to mental health care, Asian Americans often get short shrift.” Investigators “say people in this minority group, which makes up about five percent of the US population, are less well studied and less likely to seek treatment than other ethnicities.” For many Asian American teens dealing with depression and other psychiatric disorders, sometimes “parents stand in the way of treatment, intentionally or not.” Ranna Parekh, MD, director of the division of diversity and health equity for the American Psychiatric Association, said, “It takes a few generations before they can finally be free.” The APA provides a fact sheet on its website detailing mental health issues of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Related Links:
— “For many Asian Americans, depression is an unfamiliar word,” Anna Gorman, Washington Post, May 22, 2015.