Black Indigenous, and People of Color Mental Health Awareness Month

Actively examine, strengthen, and apply cultural competency in mental health care delivery with your Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) patients.

BIPOC mental health awareness month is a critical reminder for healthcare providers to address persistent disparities in access, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for BIPOC communities and highlight the need for intentional, culturally responsive, and equity-driven care practices.

Strengthening Cultural Competency: Key Opportunities for Provider Engagement

Caregiver Action Network describes the challenges faced by BIPOC individuals in seeking and receiving adequate mental health care are influenced by systemic inequalities, cultural stigmas, and socioeconomic barriers.

Providers can play a pivotal role in reducing these disparities through culturally competent and equity-focused care.

Action Steps:

• Identify and address socioeconomic inequities: Integrate health related social needs screenings into practice workflows. Provide referrals to community resources when needed.
• Reduce cultural stigma: Stigma surrounding mental health within BIPOC communities often prevents individuals from seeking help.  Have open conversations about mental health with your patients.
• Address systemic racism and discrimination: Historical and ongoing discriminatory practices within healthcare contribute to mistrust and poorer outcomes.  Work to build open and trusting relationships with your patients.
• Understand the impact of bias: Implicit bias among providers can unintentionally affect diagnosis, treatment planning, and patient-physician communication. Cultural competency training can help mitigate these biases and promote more equitable care.
• Promote Culturally Competent Care: Cultural competency is essential for delivering effective mental healthcare to BIPOC patients. This involves understanding cultural beliefs and practices and recognizing how cultural backgrounds influence patients' understanding of mental health and their preferences for treatment.
• Adapt communication styles: Use culturally appropriate language, respect communication preferences, and use interpreters when needed.
• Utilize culturally relevant assessment tools: Employing validated tools that account for cultural differences in symptom presentation.

Available Resources:

• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 (24/7/365). Provides immediate support via call, text, or online chat. Resources are also available for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals.
• PA Support & Referral Helpline: 1-855-284-2494 (TTY: 724-631-5600)
• BlackLine: Crisis Call Line for the Black community: 1-800-604-5841, info@callblackline.org.     

Highmark Wholecare Resources:

Resources may vary depending on the member's healthcare benefits.

Highmark Wholecare PA Medicare D-SNP Members

• Highmark Wholecare covers some levels of treatment including inpatient, outpatient, and medication management. Levels of care that are not covered by Medicare D-SNP may be covered/ coordinated with the member’s BH-MCO (for PA).
• Locate a treatment provider for Highmark Wholecare PA Medicare D-SNP members.

Highmark Wholecare PA Medicaid Members

• PA Medicaid recipients’ behavioral health benefits are managed by a Behavioral Health MCO (BH-MCO)
• Find the BH-MCO for the county in which the individual resides.