What is an example of advocacy about mental health awareness?
This assignment aims to help students understand the impact of multigenerational inequities, trauma, safety, laws, and the overall social environment on diverse populations. Social determinants of mental health have been found to impact the risk of disorder and access to resources thereby impacting the outcomes. Factors such as safety, housing, food insecurity, community resources, economics, transportation, legal issues, adverse childhood experiences, insurance coverage, social cohesion, early childhood development, and education have been demonstrated to be unique considerations for mental health. Racism, power, privilege, and oppression in communities are parts of feedback loops that maintain inequities and gaps in the Social Determinants of Mental Health (SDMH) for large facets of the U.S. population.
Feedback loops are self-regulating systems demonstrating cause and effect in a closed loop. Advocacy is critical in disrupting the system that maintains current inequities. This assignment will involve an examination of the political landscape (e.g., laws, judicial decisions, and executive orders) that impacts inequities, power, and privilege. To familiarize yourself with the impact of social determinants of mental health, review Shim et al. (2018). Students will create a 5-page resource paper for mental health providers to understand the impact of this issue on marginalized communities. In writing this paper,
Define the issue;
Summarize two articles that discuss the impact of the issue on marginalized communities; and
Provide two to three action steps for counselors to engage in to advocate for systemic change
Refer to the grading rubric to inform the content and structure of your work. Examples of topics include, but are not limited to:
Improving access to mental health resources for individuals within the criminal justice system
Prioritizing funding for mental health professionals over school resource officers
Advocating for immigration policies that prioritize family unity
Advocating for policies that affirm LGBTQIA+ rights
Fair housing policies
Insurance reform
