final

Providing counseling services to clients is meant to improve their health and well-being. However, it is difficult to establish whether the counseling services were efficient in enhancing the client's well-being without conducting a follow-up. This is the primary reason many clients experience depression and other health problems after a successful counseling session. The organizations offering counseling services need to follow up on the clients to ensure they have the proper mental health and can live a practical life free from relapses and problems with societal stigmatization (Shim et al, 2017). The research question for this project is how effective cognitive behavioral therapy is in reducing episodes of depression among African-American clients in Minnesota in a counseling agency.

The majority of the people affected by the issues of mental health problems such as depression in the United States are from low-income families. It means that it becomes difficult for them to access adequate services, and when they do, there is little follow-up to ensure that they are well and continue to maintain mental wellness. African Americans are the people that are mostly affected by the problems of mental health in the counselling facility. This is due to issues with employment education and low income due to racial discrimination in the workplace (Shim et al, 2017). It is therefore important to have organizations that provide follow-up sessions to these individuals who have undergone mental health treatment to ensure that the clients and the population maintain proper mental health. The agency also needs to effectively implement strategies to ensure that every client receives counseling sessions and a significant follow-up that encourages proper mental health awareness.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy incorporates talking as a way of helping the client manage the problems that change the way they think and behave. It is an effective tool for treating anxiety and depression among clients. Using cognitive behavioral therapy for the African-American population will help to curb the negative branding of mental health problems such as depression (Bryant & Harder, 2008). Social workers focus on providing the best services to their clients. Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, therefore, ensures success in every action the social worker takes and enhances the client's recovery.

Demographic Information

The target population for this intervention is African Americans. This includes people of ages from 18 years and above since the problem of depression can affect an individual at any age. The intervention will also be provided to those unable to afford to pay for mental health services with low income. These are the people living in Minnesota. The organization does not have any ethnic or religious discrimination for the clients to whom they provide services to.

Needs Experienced By the Population

8.9% of African-Americans experience depression (Dunlop et al., 2003). The problem's major cause is the high unemployment rates, which are double or triple those of the whites. Before the Great Depression, African-Americans used to work in unskilled jobs. However, even as time passed, the levels of unemployment for African-Americans and working in unskilled jobs were high. African Americans are likely to suffer depression due to poor living standards. At the same time, they experience high levels of stigmatization because the culture defines the mental health problems to be caused by superstitious forces. The men in the society do not seek for mental health services because they when they do so, they are considered to be weak.

Services Available Within the Agency

The Minnesota agency provides walk-in services to ensure every individual can access counseling services. These are general services provided to all the clients after they receive the assessment and their needs are determined. The organization also works to ensure that the clients receive the best therapy through a follow-up process to prevent the re-occurrence of the mental health problems for the clients.

Strength Protective Factors and Resiliency of the Target Population

One of the strengths of African-Americans women is that they are willing to seek mental health services. It makes it easier for social workers to effectively work with them using cognitive behavioral therapy to improve their health outcomes. At the same time, the United States has established laws and regulations on equity when it comes to accessing health services (Peek et al., 2021). It is a population that has been resilient to different situations and equal opportunities in accessing Healthcare; therefore, it is possible to enhance access to healthcare services through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to prevent and effectively treat incidences of depression.

African Americans have been greatly affected by issues of oppression and discrimination over history (Smith & Nicholson, 2022). The problems of depression are higher among African Americans, which is an issue that can be traced to historical adversity. The aspects of slavery, sharecropping, and race-based exclusion from health care services have resulted in increased disparities being experienced by African Americans today. The social and economic status has also resulted in a decline in mental health. The people who are majorly impoverished, homeless, incarcerated, and associated with substance use are the African Americans with a risk for poor mental health. The progress made over the years has not been sufficient to enhance African-Americans' access to mental health services. The effects of racism continue to impact African Americans' mental health significantly. Although there is a reduction in negative stereotyping and attitudes of rejection amongst the African-Americans due to the existing laws, the impact of these cases of poor treatment have adverse consequences on this population.

Impacts of Historical Policies and Practices on the Target Population

The practices in the African American community affects the issues of mental illnesses over many years. The culture views mental illness as religious punishment or demonic possession (Heboyan et al., 2021). The negative attitudes toward mental illness persisted throughout the 18th century in the United States. It resulted in stigmatization and unhygienic confinement of mentally ill individuals. The National Mental Health Act of 1946 writes the Surgeon General to improve the mental health of the United States citizens using research on the causes of the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. It significantly impacted access to mental health services, primarily for African-Americans. Although it increased access to mental health services for African Americans, have been hesitant to seek medical services on mental health matters.

Policies Related Needs of Black Americans

The Federal Government ensures that mental health services are accessible to different populations. The Federal Government plays a role in regulating systems and providers and protecting the rights of the consumers. They are also the primary funding source for mental health services through different insurance policies provided to individuals. Different laws affect the mental health of African Americans. One of the laws is the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act for mental health (Heboyan et al., 2021). It is a law that established that the national mental health policies should be directed towards improving the health of the population in schools, workplaces, and communities, considering the rights of the marginalized in mental health. It is meant to strengthen the leadership and Governance of mental health amongst all individuals. Such a policy ensures that African-Americans can access effective care services. The mental health equity act of 2020 was established to ensure that young people, especially the youth of color, had their mental health issues resolved (McCray & Rosenberg, 2021). It is an act that tries to ensure that every individual in the United States accesses better mental health care. It is a law that complemented the mental health parity and addiction equity act established in 1996 (Presskreischer, 2021). These policies are meant to enhance access to mental health services, especially for the groups that had once been affected by marginalization. \

Macro-Level Systems Perspective

African-Africans have occupied a unique niche in the American history in the contemporary and national life. The legacy of slavery and discrimination has a major influence on the social and the economic standing of the African Americans. The mental health of this group is thus appreciated when considering the historical context. The African Americans have depicted resilience and social ties that has made it possible for them to overcome the adversities and maintain their mental health. The total population of the African Americans is 12 percent of the total population which is faced with disparities in the access to mental health services (Hankerson et al., 2018). The mental health care disparities are the unfair differences in accessing services or the quality of care. Ethnicity is a major component determining the mental health and the African Americans have for many years faced serious and persistent mental health care disparities.

The report by the Surgeon General shows that the mental health culture, race, and ethnicity are some of the factors influencing access to mental health services. The ethnic minorities such as the African Americans have less access to these services compared to the whites who are the majority. Apart from a lack of access to care, this population is more likely to receive poor quality of care when treated. The effects of poor access to health care coupled with the low quality care discourages the people from seeking for these services whenever they are faced with mental health problems. Hankerson et al. (2018) explained that the African Americans are more likely to terminate the mental health treatment prematurely.

The health disparities existing in accessing mental health are avoidable and unfair differences. These health disparities affect the minority groups negatively since they have experienced higher social and economic obstacles. The African Americans face challenges and discrimination in accessing mental health care due to race, education, income level, and the language. Gara et al. (2019) explained that the African Americans are faced with problems such as low medication use, poor communications with health services provider and the stigmatization. The population is more likely to initiate the use of antidepressant medication treatment in a bid to stop the signs of depression. It is these approaches that makes it possible for the people to experience complex symptoms related to mental health. In 2013, a Health Affairs study established that only half of the adults African Americans that were enrolled in publicly funded mental health programs were able to complete them. Therefore, the mental health disparities facing African Americans affects access and effectiveness in dealing with the problem.

The reduced access to mental health services for the African Americans is a major human rights concern. Every individual in the United States has a right to access the best available mental health care which should be a part of the health and social care system (Lipson et al., 2018). The principles for the protection of mental illness patients also requires them to be treated with humanity and respect that is inherent in a human person. The lack of proper access and effective treatment of mental illnesses for the African Americans due to economic problems or discrimination is against the established human rights. The discrimination of the individuals from accessing mental health due to the educational limits that affects the ability to participate in gainful employment is also discriminatory and thus, it is important to ensure that there are opportunities for those with mental issues to prevent social inequality. The discrimination and stigmatization of the African Americans makes it difficult for them to exercise decision to seek for these services whenever necessary. It results to disparities in accessing mental health services and the wellbeing of these minority group.

References