MENTAL HEALTH AMONG THE LATINX POPULATION

Mental health in the Latinx community has been stigmatized for several years. In the Latinx community mental health is disregarded and oftentimes not addressed and overlooked by immediate family members. The purpose of this study is to address the reason why people do not access mental health services. The methods used in this study consisted of a qualitative approach and participants were asked open ended questions. A total of eleven participants (N=11) were gathered and consisted of both female and male participants who identify as Latinxs. The key findings from this research indicate that seeking mental health services was viewed as being weak, that participants would rather talk to friends/siblings rather than seeking professional help, and that religion does not influence the decision of seeking mental health services in the Latinx community. One way to address the issue regarding access to mental health services is creating financial assistance for low cost services and providing alternatives for people who are undocumented