| The failure to address systemic racism, bias and colonization in traditional CBT is a microcosm of the issues that plague mental health care generally. It demonstrates how Indigenous, Black and communities of colour are often left out when it comes to developing models of care. Too many racialized people end up in therapy situations in which they don’t feel safe exploring issues pertinent to their lived experience. “It’s a systemic issue. There’s just so much that needs to be done,” says Williams. Funding is always an issue, although important acknowledgements have been made: In 2018, the federal government committed $19 million over five years to mental health programs in Black communities. But cultural insensitivity is still a barrier and, Williams says, it can lead to a reluctance to go to psychotherapy at all. That reluctance is often justified. Black youth are four times more likely to enter the mental health system through hospital emergency departments than white youth—and 2020 has shown just how dangerous emergency mental health situations can be for Black, Indigenous and other racialized people. It’s clear there’s a long way to go to make mental health care more relevant and accessible. The barriers are many, from Eurocentric curricula and teaching methods, to the social determinants of health that make racialized people more likely to experience mental distress, to the financial barriers that make it difficult for many people to access treatment at all. Clearly, a one-size-fits-all mode of therapy too often fails communities who need help the most—in worst-case scenarios, its oversights can be catastrophic. Openness and evolution are needed to give medicine its best chance at doing what it was created for: healing people. |
