The research found the majority of respondents were already struggling with mental health before COVID-19 struck and service providers now can’t keep up with the increased demand. “Just focusing on your mental health can be a luxury and a privilege for some people, and that can largely fail to meet the needs of marginalized groups,” said Grace Barakat, a sociology PhD candidate at Toronto’s York University who led the study The research was done in partnership with Islamic Relief, a Toronto-based charity that was seeing a rising number of people seeking help for mental health issues during the pandemic. Many respondents spent long hours juggling long commutes and family responsibilities. Many had little or no health benefits, which prevented them from getting the care they needed, Barakat says. But the stigma surrounding mental health care was still the number one reason why respondents didn’t seek it out, she says, adding that financial barriers were also high on the list.

‘Demand was overwhelming’ 

The study was done online and included responses from 103 women and interviews with five service providers. The researchers warn the data cannot be considered reflective of the wider population of racialized women in Canada due to sample sizes and lack of randomization. But they did find 52 per cent of respondents struggled with anxiety before the pandemic. “During the peak of the lockdowns and restrictions, we did see a large increase in percentage points for almost every single negative mental health outcome, especially anxiety levels and exhaustion and burnout,” said Barakat. Service providers told Barakat and her team referrals and requests during the pandemic were through the roof. They “couldn’t actually handle the volume that they were receiving,” she said. Meghan Watson, a registered psychotherapist and founder of Bloom Psychology & Wellness in Toronto, says the cultural stigma sometimes prevents people from seeking mental health support as early as they should. (Meghan Watson/Submitted)
That finding resonated with Meghan Watson, a registered psychotherapist and founder of Bloom Psychology & Wellness, in Toronto. “I found that the demand was overwhelming,” she said. Watson opened Bloom during the pandemic in 2020, and only a couple of months later she had to stop accepting new patients. Several of her clinical colleagues at Bloom also have full schedules, she says.  Jasmeet Chagger, a registered nurse and co-founder of SOCH Mental Health, a non-profit that holds wellness sessions in English, Punjabi and other languages in Peel Region, says the pandemic brought on a new wave of inquiries. Some people were already having mental health concerns that the pandemic made worse. Others had not considered mental health important for them until the pandemic awakened a new need, and in some cases, new openness to support, she says.  Jasmeet Chagger, left, and Maneet Chahal are the founders of SOCH, a non-profit aimed at increasing access to mental health services and battling the stigma against reaching out for help among South Asian communities in Peel Region. (Supplied by Jasmeet Chagger)
Chagger says the demand for support from South Asian service providers was acute, as people grappled with lockdown challenges and interruptions to traditional grieving processes. For some it was the desire to speak about difficult things in their primary language, she says. But that wasn’t the only factor. “Some people that we’ve spoken to that are born and raised here, have lived their whole life here, [but] they still want a South Asian therapist,” Chagger said, noting that awareness of things like South Asian family dynamics can make a significant difference. During the pandemic, SOCH led well-attended group sessions for women living in multi-generational homes with their in-laws and other extended family, something common in South-Asian Canadian households, she says. The sessions helped participants grapple with challenges of working from home, boundaries and other issues.. 

Behind the stigma

But in spite of the increasing need for mental health supports, not all respondents felt like they could seek help. Chagger says in many South Asian languages, such as Punjabi, there aren’t even words to describe some mental health issues.  “We have certain labels for people that have a mental health issue. And the only translation I can think of is literally ‘crazy,’” she said. When mental health issues are deeply stigmatized, not everyone feels like they can reach out for help, Chagger says. Watson has also noticed the role cultural stigma plays.  “People wait until they are at complete crisis to seek help,” she said. In some cases, the stigma is so great that it’s only when someone reaches a complete crisis that “things might feel valid enough to reach out and gain support, when they literally cannot do it anymore,” Watson added.

What can be done

The study recommends governments explore options, including:

Covering more mental health services under health insurance. Compelling employers to include significant mental health coverage in benefit packages. Integrating culturally sensitive awareness campaigns to end the stigma against seeking help in racialized communities.

Reyhana Patel, the director of communications at Islamic Relief, says many racialized women were telling the organization prior the the study that they recognized the need to address their mental health but couldn’t get access to services. Various groups are trying to address the stigma and bring mental health education to diverse communities, Patel says. “There’s a lot of great work that’s being done right now. And supporting a lot of that work too is really important.”

title: “Racialized Women Face Significant Barriers When Seeking Mental Health Care Study Finds " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Edward Myles”

The survey found that the majority of respondents were already experiencing mental health problems before the onset of COVID-19 and service providers can no longer keep up with the growing demand. “Focusing solely on your mental health can be a luxury and a privilege for some people, and it can largely fail to meet the needs of marginalized groups,” said Grace Barakat, Ph.D. of studying. The research was conducted in collaboration with Islam Relief, a Toronto-based charity that saw an increasing number of people seeking help with mental health issues during the pandemic. Many respondents spent many hours juggling large commutes and family responsibilities. Many had little or no health benefits, which prevented them from getting the care they needed, Barakat said. But the stigma surrounding mental health care was still the number one reason respondents did not seek it, he says, adding that financial barriers were also high on the list.

“Demand was overwhelming”

The study was conducted online and included responses from 103 women and interviews with five service providers. The researchers warn that the data can not be considered to reflect the wider population of racial women in Canada due to sample size and lack of randomization. However, they found that 52 percent of respondents were struggling with anxiety before the pandemic. “During the peak of restrictions and restrictions, we saw a large increase in percentage points for almost every negative mental health outcome, especially levels of stress and exhaustion,” Barakat said. Service providers told Barakat and her team that referrals and requests during the pandemic were from the roof. “They really could not stand the volume they were receiving,” he said. Meghan Watson, a registered psychotherapist and founder of Bloom Psychology & Wellness in Toronto, says that cultural stigma sometimes prevents people from seeking mental health support as early as they should. (Meghan Watson / Submitted)
This finding resonated with Meghan Watson, a registered psychotherapist and founder of Bloom Psychology & Wellness, Toronto. “I found the demand to be overwhelming,” he said. Watson opened Bloom during the 2020 pandemic and only a few months later had to stop accepting new patients. Several of her clinical colleagues at Bloom also have full programs, she says. Jasmeet Chagger, a registered nurse and co-founder of SOCH Mental Health, a nonprofit that conducts wellness sessions in English, Punjabi and other languages ​​in the Peel area, says the pandemic has sparked a new wave of research. Some people already had mental health concerns that the pandemic was getting worse. Others had not considered mental health important to them until the pandemic aroused a new need, and in some cases, a new opening in support, he says. Jasmeet Chagger, left, and Maneet Chahal are the founders of SOCH, a nonprofit organization that aims to increase access to mental health services and combat stigma among South Asian communities in the Peel region. (Provided by Jasmeet Chagger)
Chagger says the demand for support from South Asian service providers was strong as people faced lockout challenges and breaks in traditional mourning processes. For some it was the desire to talk about difficult things in their main language, he says. But that was not the only factor. “Some of the people we talked to and who were born and raised here have lived their whole lives here. [but] “They still want a South Asian therapist,” Chagger said, noting that awareness of things like South Asian family dynamics can make a big difference. During the pandemic, SOCH organized group sessions with good visits for women living in multi-generational homes with their in-laws and other extended families, something common in Canadian households, he says. The sessions helped the participants to face the challenges of working from home, boundaries and other issues.

Behind the stigma

But despite the growing need for mental health support, not all respondents felt they could seek help. Tsager says that in many South Asian languages, such as Punjabi, there are not even words to describe certain mental health problems. “We have some labels for people with mental health problems. And the only translation I can think of is literally ‘crazy,’” he said. When mental health issues are deeply stigmatized, not everyone feels that they can ask for help, says Chagger. Watson has also observed the role that cultural stigma plays. “People are waiting until they are in a complete crisis to seek help,” he said. In some cases, the stigma is so great that only when one reaches full crisis “can things feel valid enough to reach out and gain support when they literally can no longer do so,” Watson added.

What can be done

The study urges governments to explore options such as:

Coverage of more mental health services in the context of health insurance. Obligation of employers to include significant mental health coverage in benefit packages. Integration of culturally sensitive awareness campaigns to end the stigma against seeking help in tribal communities.

Reyhana Patel, communications director at Islamic Relief, says many racist women told the organization before the study that they recognized the need to address their mental health but could not access services. Different groups are trying to address the stigma and bring mental health education to different communities, says Patel. “There is a lot of great work being done right now. And supporting a lot of that work is also very important.”