The process of allowing cultural competency in the healthcare system would be hiring mental health professionals who understand the effect racism has on and how it can lead to mental struggles. According to the UPenn Collaborative on Community Integration, Cultural competence is the ability to relate to individuals from different groups and backgrounds. Cultural competence also includes valuing the differences that other cultures bring to the field and even, at times, using that throughout the therapeutic process. In Walton, Q. L., Campbell, R. D., & Blakey, J. M. (2021), Mental healthcare workers and practitioners have to create space and opportunities for Black women to receive the healthcare they deserve. Looking to Copeland, V. C., & Butler, J. (2007), Black women are mistreated within the mental healthcare system, and the disparities are evidence of this. Black women who encounter staff knowledgeable and respectful of their cultures and traditions can and will facilitate change within the field and allow other Black women to have more discussions about mental health and openly seek help. This idea and my website will promote Black women’s mental wellness to make other Black women want to seek help amidst this disparity.
Sources:
Walton, Q. L., Campbell, R. D., & Blakley, J. M. (2021, March 4). Black women and covid-19: The need for targeted mental health research and practice.
Copeland, V. C., & Butler, J. (2007). Reconceptualizing access: a cultural competence approach to improving the mental health of African American women. Social work in public health, 23(2-3), 35–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371910802148263