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[Christiana Malacara] Hello and welcome to Somos Hispanos, Im your host, Christiana Malacara.

In this episode, we will dive deep into the long time stigma surrounding mental health stability, specific in the Latino population.

We will sit down with experts in the field from the Great Lakes Bay region and ask why?

What do we do?

And how do we break the generational pattern of not seeking assistance.

Hi, everyone, thank you for joining me.

I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to come and talk to us about something that doesn't get talked about a lot, and that would be the mental health and stability in the Latino population.

So we're going to narrow that down even further to the Latino population in the Great Lakes Bay region.

But before we get there, could we go around and just introduce ourselves in our titles?

Absolutely.

[Dr. Melvin McDowell] My name is Dr. Melvin McDowell.

And I am the owner and clinical director at McDowell Healing Arts Center.

[Angel Gomez] Good afternoon, my name is Angel Gomez.

I am a clinical therapist at McDowell Healing Arts Center.

And I am the youth group director at St. Joseph Parish in Saginaw.

Hi, I'm Jackie Torres, and I'm a clinical therapist and social media coordinator at McDowell Healing Arts Center.

[Christiana] So can we talk a little bit about McDowell Healing.

What services do you provide, there in your facility?

[Melvin] Yeah, so it's mostly, your standard talk therapy so folks can come to our office and receive mental health counseling and therapy.

We provide it to young adults, kids, groups, couples, you name it.

We also have other things we consider to be like our healing arts and things like that.

So we might have paint nights or things of that nature.

[Christiana] What's the definition of therapy [Melvin] I would define therapy as a process where, professional and, someone such as you and I or someone from our community would sit down and have a conversation and begin to process, things that are going on within their lives.

[Christiana] So when we're talking about therapy within the Latino population, there's always been a type of kind of umbrella stigma that we don't talk about it.

It gets kind of hush and put away, and it goes into this little box inside of each of us, and then from there, we just carry that little box around throughout life.

I personally, growing up as a Mexican-American woman, have experienced this.

Where do you see this changing in the future through the services that you provide?

[Angel] So one of the things I would say is that it's about our community coming in and becoming that professional as well.

There's at least two of us that speak Spanish at McDowell Healing Arts Center.

There's two of us that are, we feel a very strong need to be into the community.

So we attend events that happen in our community, like our Cinco de Mayo event in Saginaw, And the K?

Onda!

event that's in Saginaw.

[Christiana] So you mentioned that you have, Spanish speaking therapist there, why is that important?

[Angel] So that's one of the biggest barriers that, Latino can face.

Therapy is kind of shunned upon our older generations.

And for them to understand, we need to be able to provide some education as well, is having family support.

And one of those things is being able to show and represent the Latino culture.

The Spanish speaker that has started going through these changes in their generational trauma.

[Christiana] Jackie, when were looking at the stigma, what are some of those barriers that you see that are being removed?

[Jackie] So growing up Mexican-American as well, it is like we mentioned mental health is, you know, stigmatized because they were like, well, you should use your spirituality as a form of coping.

So you're not praying enough.

You're not, you know, asking for forgiveness or you're not looking for family reassurance and looking for those coping skills instead of finding that professional help.

So, like you mentioned, going out to the community and especially Hispanic events and letting them know, like, hey, it's okay to come and talk to somebody outside of your comfort.

And just being able to allow them to represent themselves and using their Spanglish like we do in our office.

That way they feel like it's not usually just a professional rapport instead of it's a more of a building experience with one another.

So when it comes to the Hispanic community, you want to share those experiences, even if it's a personal experience yourself, because it's going to allow them to feel like, okay, I'm not alone.

I am able to put my trust and faith in you that whatever we say in our office is a safe environment.

[Christiana] What are some of the topics that are coming to you as the Latinos are coming in and seeking help?

And then also, what is that primary age range?

[Angel] So I would say the age range, it varies.

I have seen, young children come in as well as older folks that would be coming in.

I work with a lot of Hispanic boys because what their, their going against is the ?

??

the being the man, the traditional gender role.

And they have to go against that and actually be a functioning member of society that is going to allow his wife to go work or allow his wife to, go out and go to the movies or even stay home and take care of their children where their wife is providing for them.

[Christiana] Do you ever see that?

[Jackie] I have more Hispanic women on my caseload, so I thought that was a really cool experience because they're allowed to express their individual experiences as a single mother is in the household, so needing to find the financial stability while also maintaining the household is a huge, difficult issue amongst their livelihood.

So working with that, we work with a lot of self-esteem and self-love concepts.

So finding ways that are going to allow them to be like, yeah, I have 2 or 3 jobs right now, but I'm also maintaining my household.

It's a lot to work with, but my family is proud of my accomplishments.

I'm proud of my accomplishments.

If they need our needing resources, we usually talk to Angel here, and he gives them the resources that they need in the community, If they do lack certain things.

And just allowing them to be able to speak like English and Spanish in the room.

I don't have to correct them.

They are able to just be their individual, unique selves and be able to have that Spanglish in my office.

And if I say, you know, there's different forms of Spanish, so there's Spain, Spanish, and then there's Mexican, Spanish, and then there's a little quirky lingual that we use in our household, right.

So if they use a word that I'm like, doesn't sound like familiar in my household, I'm like, okay, can you express what this actually means?

And I'm like, okay, cool.

That's what I thought you meant.

And we can expand off that.

And being able to learn off one another in a way gives them a sense of taking back and individuality, so they feel like they're in a safe environment and being able to share some experiences that they truly struggle with.

[Christiana] So being the owner of the facility, how important was it for you to expand into this population and, and hire these two wonderful people to kind of take over... To take over that portion of the community in this way.

[Melvin] Yeah, it was extremely important And I guess first I start off with they both were my students.

And so I got the amazing opportunity to work with them in different capacities.

But having them to come on to our team, it was extremely important because I understand how much representation matters.

As African-American male myself when I was searching for a therapist for myself, I was look an African-American male.

But, you know, again, we are like unicorns.

People say, you know, often talked about you're rarely seen or something like that, You know, but, I know that I experienced that as a black male, and I know that other, you know, other minority groups might experience that as well.

[Christiana] So you mentioned mirroring the community, did you see the need before the hire?

[Melvin] Yes, absolutely.

So we would get folks that would come in and they're looking for services and they might specifically say, you know, or ask, do you have a Hispanic, you know, therapist?

And, there were times where we didn't, you know.

So yes, there was definitely a need, Hispanic moms, Hispanic dads would call in, or we might get referrals from schools, and you know, that have young folks who who would be specifically looking for, Hispanic therapists.

[Christiana] Let's go back to language, because we're in this time in this generation where, there is a group of Latinos in the Great Lakes Bay Region who who don't speak Spanish, but maybe their parents do, or they have children who they want to teach Spanish.

And that's specific issue of being I'm a Latino.

I identify that way, but I do not speak the language.

Does that ever come across as an issue that goes into identity?

[Jackie] I haven't had any clients personally that have struggled not knowing both languages, but from personal experiences within the Latino community that do not speak Spanish, they do have like a sense of negativity towards themselves because they feel like they have to have that need to be accepted in the Hispanic community.

I don't feel as if you speak Spanish or not.

You're not a part of our Latino community, but they have kind of a sense of feeling like they weren't given that opportunity.

So if it ever came back to that, I would definitely find resources for them to maybe find opportunities to, if they want to expand their Spanish ability, that they can reach those experiences to.

[Christiana] So hitting the topic of tradition, mental health stability wasnt always a a buzzword, right?

The ways that... Well, I guess I should ask you, what were ways that the, the population coped when they had a mental instability?

[Jackie] Like I went back earlier talking about our families, specifically my family, but I know a lot of Hispanic families, they automatically assume that go to spirituality as a form of coping.

You know, which is fine.

Spirituality is definitely a great way of coping.

However, it is totally okay to seek an agency that can give you that one on one experience that is going to allow you to, you know, let down those layers of vulnerability to express other than the religious aspect of it.

When I started going to therapy, my mom was not for it.

My mom's from Michoacan, Mexico, so she is like very traditional Hispanic.

And when I told her and I was very proud of my accomplishments, I shared it on Facebook.

Mom was very embarrassed that I shared it on Facebook because it is stigmatized.

She didn't even want me to take medication If they were prescribing those antidepressant because it's just looked so negatively upon it, like ?

??

in a way.

You know, so the matter is, religion is always the first thing or going to family members and sharing those experiences.

But sometimes you don't want to share those experiences with family members because ?

???

everywhere and everybody's going to know your business.

And sometimes you don't want to share those experiences, especially if it's something you're struggling with.

And, you know, the Latino community is very proud.

We're very proud people.

So why would you want to share some vulnerable experiences that might make us look weak instead of, you know, instead of looking for some professional help?

[Christiana] So do you ever see a complete turnaround in a family?

You know, let's talk about let's are all that good now because there's definitely the negatives that happen when you're trying to bottle these things up, in, you know, finding outside sources like religion, or, you know, even even toxic behaviors to bottle this up.

[Angel] So I haven't worked with anybody that has fully met that full circle.

But I think that with progress in therapy that it's not a measure of going to their full circle, it's just to make progress.

So, I have had kids that, especially young men who are now second thinking about how they talk to their mother because their father or their male figure in their life used to talk to women anyway.

I've had, young men who are realizing, like school is important.

I want to get a good job.

I'm going to allow, I want to have kids, and I want to be an active part in their lives.

I've worked also with some young ladies that are like I can succeed.

I can go to college, I can provide for my family.

And I don't need a man to dictate that.

[Christiana] What are conversations that maybe we can have at home to notice, instability early on.

[Melvin] So a couple things come to mind when you ask that question.

So, when we begin to, notice changes in our moods or changes in our activities and things like that.

This could be a sign that, you know, that, you know, something is going on.

And so, if you noticing that, you know, you or your loved one, they're standing in the room more, they're not coming out and not being a social.

If they're, you know, having challenges at work or at school, we always talk about, you know, how is your challenges impacting your functioning?

Those are like some of those signs that we might be able to see ahead of time.

And then when we do see those signs, you know, it might be a good time to, you know, to pick up the phone and, you know, give a professional a call.

[Christiana] When we're looking at a family member, or even ourselves, and thinking, this is a phone call, I need to make.

What is that time look like from the timeline, from them coming into the office to them actually seeing a change and how does that person work at that internally?

[Melvin] So it's different for everybody.

So some people come in and, I've had a person come in and they had 1 or 2 sessions and they were good after that.

I've had some people come in and they've been in with me for services for five years, you know, so it just it varies from person to person.

You know, we are always talking about we, you know, we're hoping that individuals and families have, you know, have family members and friends and things that they can, you know, talk to as well.

We hope not to be the only person in their lives, although there's moments where we are the only person in their lives who can kind of help them, you know, look through their challenges.

But it's really going to depend on, that resiliency factor.

We all have a certain level of resiliency, you know, but again, those that that resiliency factor, it increases the more support that we have around us, the more conversations that we have, the more that we beat down some of these stigmas and stuff.

And we're more willing to open up and have these conversations and stuff like that.

[Christiana] How long have you been in practice?

[Angel] So I have officially been, limited licensed master social worker for, like a year and a half.

However, I interned at McDowell Healing Arts Center, and I was also an intern at another facility with my masters.

[Christiana] So since that time, have you seen a change to the stigma from the inside perspective?

[Angel] I would say I do.

I did, there's been a lot of, families that would avoid the topic of mental health.

I give my personal experience in that.

Like when I first started my day, I thought I was going to go become a brujo for gringos.

[Christiana] Define that.

[Angel] So brujo for gringos is like a witch doctor for white people.

And as I was learning and I was involving in my education, I was able to teach my dad about generational trauma and how we can go about changing that and how he's changing it.

And now he... We just had this conversation last week and he's like, I'm so proud of you.

Look at how successful you're being.

Look at how you're to provide for your family.

[Christiana] How that make you feel?

[Angel] Made me feel great, especially if, like in the past, I always question myself, so.

[Christiana] In this position, have you ever had a moment where you, like you spoke about your mother?

Have you ever had a moment of just, is this where I need to be?

[Jackie] Imposter syndrome is a real thing, okay.

I think every client, any social worker, anybody in this field is going to feel like they can do more or there might not be the days, but they're like, oh, I did not do therapy well today with my clients.

My mom is very proud of me as well.

It took her some convincing, you know, she didn't think my skin was thick enough for this type of career, but I proven myself.

There are days that I'll be in Melvin's office crying in many occasions, but then there's other days that I can go home like, wow, I did my thing today.

I, you know, a client will tell me, like, they appreciate what I've done and they appreciate that they feel safe and heard and their environment.

And you can see how much they've grown.

I've been seeing clients for 3 or 4 years now on my caseload, and they will take breaks and come back.

So if, obviously if they come back, that must show that I'm doing something, you know.

The agency itself is doing something because we have a lot of regular clients that take their steps because they have accomplished certain criteria that they wanted to when they were struggling.

But then like, okay, now I have a step back again and they reach McDowell Healing Art Center again.

So I feel like that just shows that our agency is doing what needs to be done in the area.

[Christiana] What are some things that the community can do as a whole to, you know, break these, you know, these generational barriers that, that maybe we can pass on.

[Jackie] So like stated earlier K Onda a group here in Saginaw area that they've reached out whenever they have community events.

So usually whenever there's a Hispanic event, he reaches out to Angel and I and we set up a table, sharing our resources and information for McDowell.

[Angel] So I'm the youth group director at my church, and, one thing about our priest there is he allows me to bring in the mental health aspect, and being able to tailor it with the religious aspect as well as like we all go through our struggles.

So how do we come together and correct and give each other strength.

[Melvin] Being open and honest about the struggles that we all endure, I think is a huge thing.

And, you know, in any community.

There's so many people who are who are scared or embarrassed to talk about different things that they're going through.

But I think the more that the community, you know, talk about mental health and talk about, you know, our challenge.

And I'm not saying stand on a rooftop and say, hey, I have mental health challenges, but I am saying, you know, it's important for, you know, for folks to know, you know, I tell my clients, like, I have a therapist, I'm a therapist, but I have a therapist, and I'm not embarrassed about that.

[Christiana] Like a barber needs a barber.

[Melvin] Absolutely, a physician needs a physician, absolutely.

And so, you know, I think the more that we can talk about it, the more that we have conversation about it, the more that we normalize that we are all susceptible to the human condition, we're human.

And so we're going to, you know, be happy one day, sad another day.

You know, things are going to happen.

You know, life transitions are going to happen.

And it's going to impact our functioning, you know?

And so I think as long as we continue to have those types of conversations, being honest and upfront about those things and being willing to share those things.

And again, I'm not saying share with the masses, but at least at a minimum in your home, you know, starting your home and, you know, admit like, hey, this is something that I'm experiencing.

And hopefully we created safe spaces for people also though.

So that's the other part of it is creating safe spaces for people because I'm not going to open up to you if I don't feel safe you know?

So that's another thing too.

[Christiana] So for those watching who who can't or don't feel safe coming to a facility, what are some things that they can do at home?

[Melvin] Yeah, I think that's a really great question.

And like I started off earlier, I mentioned almost anything can be therapeutic.

And so let's say you decide not to go see a professional.

Okay, what are some things that you might be able to do that you enjoy that you know, are you are you getting out of the house?

Are you getting some sun?

Me personally, when I'm feeling down, I might listen to some music.

I might listen to some old jams or, you know, maybe something current even, but, but listening to some music, you know, talking to a friend talking to a trusted individual.

If you don't trust us as professionals, okay, I, I get it.

But you might have someone in your life that you trust, that's going to at least hold space for you at a minimum, hold space for you.

So, so that you can process, you know, what's going on.

So those are just some of the things that come to mind for me with that question.

[Angel] And one thing I would like to add with that part two is let yourself feel the emotions.

Yeah.

If you're sad, don't bottle it up.

Let yourself feel that emotion, you can go to your room and cry.

It feels good after crying.

You can if you're angry, going out and and doing something to release that energy.

Every emotion has energy.

It's just how we express it.

[Christiana] Do you have any suggestions for us on ways to, yeah, express our emotions and, you know, do some kind of self-healing.

If we have a viewer who is unable to come to professionals services like this.

[Jackie] Well even if they don't want to go to the facility, we do have options to do a video or phone call too.

So even at picking up the phone and having a phone call with a professional there at our agency can be therapeutic.

I have a handful of individuals that, you know, they don't want to come in face to face where they don't want to do a video chat because it makes them anxious seeing somebody in that, you know, in our agency.

So having a phone call.

So being able to hear somebody and having that unbiased opinion is very helpful.

[Christiana] So when we're talking about the Latino population specific and then bringing it right down to this region, this is really a step forward in the direction of healing, a whole population, a whole generation of people.

What specific services do you provide for this population?

And, how can they find you?

[Angel] So one of the things that I do is I work with families, so there's a lot of, parent education that goes about in that.

Growing up, Mexican-American, I was spanked.

There's a lot of research that says that spanking doesn't work.

So then I'm allowed to help the parents negotiate.

Well, how do I parent without spanking and even the kids?

And how do I communicate what's really going on with me when I don't have the words, is a huge thing.

Other things that I have worked with people is being able to go out and find out what makes them happy.

With us Latinos, we're always working hard, and some of us enjoy work, but how do we relax and be able to calm down from that?

[Christiana] And then how could we find resources just in the community in general to to help this population grow.

[Melvin] There are a lot of resources in the community and some of them aren't known about, but, our local Saginaw County community Mental Health on their website.

There, you can go to their website, sccmha.org.

And they have a lot of community resources on there.

There are other, community resource guides and things, I believe the public health, our Saginaw County Public Health, they have resource guides as well.

But, we're always posting things on our Facebook page.

If things are, coming up, we post things, but, and again, obviously people can find us, they can find us on Facebook, they can find us in general, where at 3253 Congress, McDowell Healing Arts Center.

[Christiana] And viewers in general are welcome to follow along with this episode and we can share outside resources all over the region to help the mental health and stability in the Latino population here and the Great Lakes Bay region.

Thank you for joining me today.

I really appreciate you sharing your personal experiences along with your professional input.

And, I hope that we, we heal as a community and grow to move forward.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thanks to the professional advice from local therapists of the Great Lakes Bay region.

We were able to get some questions answered and ideas on how to seek assistance when mental health needs to take a priority.

For further information and for past episodes, visit the website on your screen.

Local production scene on Delta College Public Media are made possible with support from viewers like you.

Thank you.