Alleviating the Mental Health Burden of Structural Discrimination and Hate Crimes: The Role of Psychiatrists

An African American psychiatrist has been working with a middle-aged gay black man over 2 years to treat depression and anxiety after a severe traumatic brain Injury for which he receives Social Security Disability Insurance payments. Over the past 4 months, the patient's mood and anxiety have...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of psychiatry 2018-10, Vol.175 (10), p.929-933
Main Authors: Hansen, Helena, Riano, Nicholas S, Meadows, Travis, Mangurian, Christina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Crime Victims - psychology
Female
Hate
Hate crimes
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Mental Disorders - etiology
Mental Disorders - psychology
Mental Disorders - therapy
Mental health care
Physician's Role
Psychiatrists
Psychiatry
Public health
Social Discrimination - psychology
United States - epidemiology
Violence - psychology
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Summary:An African American psychiatrist has been working with a middle-aged gay black man over 2 years to treat depression and anxiety after a severe traumatic brain Injury for which he receives Social Security Disability Insurance payments. Over the past 4 months, the patient's mood and anxiety have worsened, and the patient feels that his life lacks value as he watches videos of the deaths of Mike Brown and Alton Sterling at the hands of police officers. He fears that his sexual preference puts him in danger as he watches interviews in the aftermath of the Orlando gay nightclub shooting. Recent increases in violence against ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities seem to validate his fears that this experience will not end. A Colombian-born Spanish-speaking psychiatrist notices heightened uncertainty and anxiety among both patients and staff in the urban public mental health clinic in which she works.
ISSN:0002-953X
1535-7228
DOI:10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.17080891