Selected Podcast
Mental Health & The Black Community
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston shares his insight on the effects and stigma of mental health, particularly in the black community.
Featured Speaker:
Stonewall McCuiston, MD
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston, has been practicing medicine since 1985. He received his Doctor of Medicine at Meharry Medical College School of Medicine in Nashville, TN, followed by an Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. Specializing in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Dr. McCuiston has been seeing patients for over 30 years in Kankakee and Pembroke. Dr. McCuiston serves on the Riverside Medical Group Board of Directors. In 2018, he was named the Riverside Healthcare Samaritan of the Year. Transcription:
Mental Health & The Black Community
Intro: Riverside Healthcare, puts the health and wellness information you need well within reach.
Liz Healy: Hello listeners and thank you for tuning into Well Within Reach podcast brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Liz Healy. And joining me today is Dr. Stonewall McCuiston, who's the Medical Director of Resource and Care Management here at Riverside. Thank you for joining us today, Dr. McCuiston.
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Thank you for allowing me this time.
Liz Healy: So today, we're going to be talking about the black community and mental health and the stigma that goes along with mental health in the black community. But before we jump into that, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, Dr. McCuiston?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: I've been in the Kankakee area for about 31 years. I do internal medicine and pediatrics. I also do some administrative work with the hospital where I oversee the UR case management, insurance appeals, RAC audits and Medicare appeals.
Liz Healy: Okay. Do you have ties to the local community here in Kankakee?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Yes. I moved here in 1989. I've been here since that time. I'm on several of the local charity boards here and I try to be active in the community.
Liz Healy: That's great. It's good to see an active member of the community. So to jump into our topic today, just some statistics from the Mental Health America website. In 2018 alone, 58.2% of black and African American young adults aged 18 to 25 and 50.1% of adults aged 26 to 49 with serious mental illness did not receive treatment. What could cause someone to hesitate when it comes to seeking mental health services?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Part of the cause in a black male is that man up mentality or strong man syndrome, where we were taught to internalize things. And you will hear things say, "Well, you're not going through slavery. You're not going through a Jim Crow, so it can't be that bad." So we have to get rid of those two myths and realize that depression is a real entity that we do need to address.
Liz Healy: Okay. Is there something that we can do to help kind of break the stigma within the black community to encourage them to receive mental health? Are there specific examples you could give of things we could tell our loved ones or our friends?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: First of all, we have to recognize that it is an illness, just like diabetes and hypertension, that will require a treatment. And we must recognize that it is a problem where we can address it. We have to recognize that some of the signs and symptoms are aches, headaches, cramps, loss of interest in activities, problem concentrating, remembering information, making decisions, problems falling asleep, staying asleep, sleeping too much. So you have to recognize those and go out and get treatment.
Liz Healy: Is there something that you would do if a friend of yours seemed to be having some of those symptoms? What would you encourage them to do? Or how would you approach the situation?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: If they are good friends, I'm able to have that open dialogue. I've had friends, we've been friends since third grade, so we still talk and we had that open dialogue where one of us was having a problem and we could bring him and say, "Hey, man. You're having a problem. This is more than just the blues. You may have some depression. What can we do to help you? Do we need to get you to a doctor? Do we need to get you to a counselor?" The problem is black men don't feel that we're heard. And when you look at the data, there aren't that many black counselors, there aren't that many black psychiatrists. I think only like 2% of the population are black psychiatrists, only 2% are black psychologists and only 4% are social workers. So we got to find somebody that you're comfortable with. For any disease you have, you have to have somebody you're comfortable to speak with. So that's one of the problems, finding someone that you can talk to.
You also have to look at the economics behind getting treatment. Whether you have insurance, what's going to be your insurance copay, if the person you're going to has coverage. Some people want to go to their pastor. Some of those are licensed counselors, but everyone is not covered with your insurance. So there's some impact there. You're trying to take care of your family. You're sick. You're trying to get help. You feel that you are letting your family down.
Liz Healy: That brings me into my next question. Do you think that because there's less than that 2% of the black members of the community represented in the American Psychological Association, that there's some worry that the mental health care practitioners are not really culturally competent to know how to treat specific issues that someone in the black community might have?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Yes, that is one of the main reasons. You have some practitioners who don't really think there's a food desert out there, there's lack of transportation. So they have to understand where the person is coming from to realize their situation. When you look at the problem in the black community, you see that we deal with racism, inequality, and economic suppression on a daily basis. They have to be able to understand that to help with the problem.
Liz Healy: Do you think that there's something that we can do as a community, not even just in the black community, but as the whole community that would help educate or address these issues?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: One thing what we're starting to do at an early age, you see Project Sun as a multiorganizational project here in the County, which helps kids 21 and under. So as you start with that age, you're starting to help them with their mental health needs. So by the time they get to be an adult, it's not full blown. We're looking at the whole family, the whole pediatric population. We are looking at trauma. We are looking at the whole community, getting them resources that can make them better.
Liz Healy: Okay. Are there other types of programs in the community that do address the mental health of the young population of the black community?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: You have Helen Wheeler out there that offers some counseling. A couple of other Riverside psychiatrists go there to provide medical management and they have counselors there. You have to look at the other organizations. In Kankakee. We are limited on substance abuse treatment. I think we only have two agencies in the area to deal with substance abuse and alcohol abuse and no inpatient units in the area now. Riverside used to have the program and now it's gone away for adolescents. So you have limited resources available.
Liz Healy: Okay. Is substance abuse a large impact to the black community? Are there a lot that go untreated?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Yeah, alcohol and substance abuse. And that's undertreated all over the United States. We're just a microcosm probably because we have a higher population here that's underserved. So you got both hospitals trying to do something. You got Riverside with all the primary care doctors trying to get them in and least start treatment until we can get them to a psychiatrist. Then you have these outpatient programs. You got PHP, you got the intensive outpatient programs. But then they are limited, they only can take so many. So once you get on the floor, then you got that waiting list. Then you have the people, I say, with the dual diagnosis, so we may be getting them mentally treated, but how do we get that substance abuse treatment too? How do you get both of them? Because they go hand in hand.
Liz Healy: So there are not a lot of substance abuse programs in the community inpatient-wise. Are there some outpatient or inpatient programs that we can suggest or that you would recommend?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: We do have two African-American counselors in the area, William Lacy at South Schuyler Counseling Center and Polly Vaughn at the Institute for Social and Emotional Learning. We can also look up Iroquois Mental Health Center. They do have offices located in Kankakee County that can address some of those needs.
Liz Healy: Okay. And then what are some positive ways that we can boost mental health and support black- owned businesses in the community?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: One thing you can do, we don't want you to substitute food for your illness, but we do want you to support some of the local business. Rene and Dee, Chef Vaughn, 5 Star Wings. Also looking at you have to feel good. So I would go out to get a haircut and a shave, I go to Premium Barbershop out there at the mall. There are several others in the area for black men that you can go to. So make sure you hit those local businesses and make sure you feel good. Do what makes you feel good. Anytime you can make yourself feel good, that's the one step in the right direction.
Liz Healy: Perfect. And are there some ways that you can do that positive boost of mental health and support at home?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Top is how to manage stress. This comes from Brother, You're on My Mind, an article written by NIH and Omega Psi Phi. Stay in touch with people who can provide you emotional support. Get the proper healthcare for your existing healthcare needs. Remember you still have to take care of your regular healthcare needs. We're in the middle of COVID, so people are isolated, so you got to have some outreach. You need to set priorities. You need to avoid dwelling on the problem. You need to have regular exercise. You need to schedule regular time for health and relaxing activities.
Recognize the signs of how your body responds to stress. Explore stress coping programs. Those are things that we can set out and give pamphlets to the patients to do. But the first thing is we had to recognize that it is a problem, not blow it off, not go to that mentality of a strong man mentality or man up mentality and recognize this is more than that. This is an illness, just like we treat their diabetes and their hypertension. We need to treat the depression.
Liz Healy: Is there anything else that you would like to add as a resource for the community today, Dr. McCuiston?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Use Riverside Medical Center. Use the helpline. They do have counselors available. They do have somebody for intake. You can call in. I believe that number is managed 24/7. Remember, this is a real illness. Don't just take it as being blue. Go out there and get help. Don't worry about man up, being strong. It's an illness. We want to treat you just like diabetes, hypertension, any other illness. Let's go out and get treatment.
Liz Healy: Thank you. And thank you for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast with Dr. McCuiston, the Medical Director of Resource and Care Management here at Riverside. I'm your host, Liz Healy. To learn more about the services provided by Riverside's Behavioral Medicine Department, visit our website at riversidehealthcare.org or call our Central Intake Department at (844) 442-2551.
Mental Health & The Black Community
Intro: Riverside Healthcare, puts the health and wellness information you need well within reach.
Liz Healy: Hello listeners and thank you for tuning into Well Within Reach podcast brought to you by Riverside Healthcare. I'm your host, Liz Healy. And joining me today is Dr. Stonewall McCuiston, who's the Medical Director of Resource and Care Management here at Riverside. Thank you for joining us today, Dr. McCuiston.
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Thank you for allowing me this time.
Liz Healy: So today, we're going to be talking about the black community and mental health and the stigma that goes along with mental health in the black community. But before we jump into that, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, Dr. McCuiston?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: I've been in the Kankakee area for about 31 years. I do internal medicine and pediatrics. I also do some administrative work with the hospital where I oversee the UR case management, insurance appeals, RAC audits and Medicare appeals.
Liz Healy: Okay. Do you have ties to the local community here in Kankakee?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Yes. I moved here in 1989. I've been here since that time. I'm on several of the local charity boards here and I try to be active in the community.
Liz Healy: That's great. It's good to see an active member of the community. So to jump into our topic today, just some statistics from the Mental Health America website. In 2018 alone, 58.2% of black and African American young adults aged 18 to 25 and 50.1% of adults aged 26 to 49 with serious mental illness did not receive treatment. What could cause someone to hesitate when it comes to seeking mental health services?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Part of the cause in a black male is that man up mentality or strong man syndrome, where we were taught to internalize things. And you will hear things say, "Well, you're not going through slavery. You're not going through a Jim Crow, so it can't be that bad." So we have to get rid of those two myths and realize that depression is a real entity that we do need to address.
Liz Healy: Okay. Is there something that we can do to help kind of break the stigma within the black community to encourage them to receive mental health? Are there specific examples you could give of things we could tell our loved ones or our friends?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: First of all, we have to recognize that it is an illness, just like diabetes and hypertension, that will require a treatment. And we must recognize that it is a problem where we can address it. We have to recognize that some of the signs and symptoms are aches, headaches, cramps, loss of interest in activities, problem concentrating, remembering information, making decisions, problems falling asleep, staying asleep, sleeping too much. So you have to recognize those and go out and get treatment.
Liz Healy: Is there something that you would do if a friend of yours seemed to be having some of those symptoms? What would you encourage them to do? Or how would you approach the situation?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: If they are good friends, I'm able to have that open dialogue. I've had friends, we've been friends since third grade, so we still talk and we had that open dialogue where one of us was having a problem and we could bring him and say, "Hey, man. You're having a problem. This is more than just the blues. You may have some depression. What can we do to help you? Do we need to get you to a doctor? Do we need to get you to a counselor?" The problem is black men don't feel that we're heard. And when you look at the data, there aren't that many black counselors, there aren't that many black psychiatrists. I think only like 2% of the population are black psychiatrists, only 2% are black psychologists and only 4% are social workers. So we got to find somebody that you're comfortable with. For any disease you have, you have to have somebody you're comfortable to speak with. So that's one of the problems, finding someone that you can talk to.
You also have to look at the economics behind getting treatment. Whether you have insurance, what's going to be your insurance copay, if the person you're going to has coverage. Some people want to go to their pastor. Some of those are licensed counselors, but everyone is not covered with your insurance. So there's some impact there. You're trying to take care of your family. You're sick. You're trying to get help. You feel that you are letting your family down.
Liz Healy: That brings me into my next question. Do you think that because there's less than that 2% of the black members of the community represented in the American Psychological Association, that there's some worry that the mental health care practitioners are not really culturally competent to know how to treat specific issues that someone in the black community might have?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Yes, that is one of the main reasons. You have some practitioners who don't really think there's a food desert out there, there's lack of transportation. So they have to understand where the person is coming from to realize their situation. When you look at the problem in the black community, you see that we deal with racism, inequality, and economic suppression on a daily basis. They have to be able to understand that to help with the problem.
Liz Healy: Do you think that there's something that we can do as a community, not even just in the black community, but as the whole community that would help educate or address these issues?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: One thing what we're starting to do at an early age, you see Project Sun as a multiorganizational project here in the County, which helps kids 21 and under. So as you start with that age, you're starting to help them with their mental health needs. So by the time they get to be an adult, it's not full blown. We're looking at the whole family, the whole pediatric population. We are looking at trauma. We are looking at the whole community, getting them resources that can make them better.
Liz Healy: Okay. Are there other types of programs in the community that do address the mental health of the young population of the black community?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: You have Helen Wheeler out there that offers some counseling. A couple of other Riverside psychiatrists go there to provide medical management and they have counselors there. You have to look at the other organizations. In Kankakee. We are limited on substance abuse treatment. I think we only have two agencies in the area to deal with substance abuse and alcohol abuse and no inpatient units in the area now. Riverside used to have the program and now it's gone away for adolescents. So you have limited resources available.
Liz Healy: Okay. Is substance abuse a large impact to the black community? Are there a lot that go untreated?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Yeah, alcohol and substance abuse. And that's undertreated all over the United States. We're just a microcosm probably because we have a higher population here that's underserved. So you got both hospitals trying to do something. You got Riverside with all the primary care doctors trying to get them in and least start treatment until we can get them to a psychiatrist. Then you have these outpatient programs. You got PHP, you got the intensive outpatient programs. But then they are limited, they only can take so many. So once you get on the floor, then you got that waiting list. Then you have the people, I say, with the dual diagnosis, so we may be getting them mentally treated, but how do we get that substance abuse treatment too? How do you get both of them? Because they go hand in hand.
Liz Healy: So there are not a lot of substance abuse programs in the community inpatient-wise. Are there some outpatient or inpatient programs that we can suggest or that you would recommend?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: We do have two African-American counselors in the area, William Lacy at South Schuyler Counseling Center and Polly Vaughn at the Institute for Social and Emotional Learning. We can also look up Iroquois Mental Health Center. They do have offices located in Kankakee County that can address some of those needs.
Liz Healy: Okay. And then what are some positive ways that we can boost mental health and support black- owned businesses in the community?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: One thing you can do, we don't want you to substitute food for your illness, but we do want you to support some of the local business. Rene and Dee, Chef Vaughn, 5 Star Wings. Also looking at you have to feel good. So I would go out to get a haircut and a shave, I go to Premium Barbershop out there at the mall. There are several others in the area for black men that you can go to. So make sure you hit those local businesses and make sure you feel good. Do what makes you feel good. Anytime you can make yourself feel good, that's the one step in the right direction.
Liz Healy: Perfect. And are there some ways that you can do that positive boost of mental health and support at home?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Top is how to manage stress. This comes from Brother, You're on My Mind, an article written by NIH and Omega Psi Phi. Stay in touch with people who can provide you emotional support. Get the proper healthcare for your existing healthcare needs. Remember you still have to take care of your regular healthcare needs. We're in the middle of COVID, so people are isolated, so you got to have some outreach. You need to set priorities. You need to avoid dwelling on the problem. You need to have regular exercise. You need to schedule regular time for health and relaxing activities.
Recognize the signs of how your body responds to stress. Explore stress coping programs. Those are things that we can set out and give pamphlets to the patients to do. But the first thing is we had to recognize that it is a problem, not blow it off, not go to that mentality of a strong man mentality or man up mentality and recognize this is more than that. This is an illness, just like we treat their diabetes and their hypertension. We need to treat the depression.
Liz Healy: Is there anything else that you would like to add as a resource for the community today, Dr. McCuiston?
Dr. Stonewall McCuiston: Use Riverside Medical Center. Use the helpline. They do have counselors available. They do have somebody for intake. You can call in. I believe that number is managed 24/7. Remember, this is a real illness. Don't just take it as being blue. Go out there and get help. Don't worry about man up, being strong. It's an illness. We want to treat you just like diabetes, hypertension, any other illness. Let's go out and get treatment.
Liz Healy: Thank you. And thank you for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast with Dr. McCuiston, the Medical Director of Resource and Care Management here at Riverside. I'm your host, Liz Healy. To learn more about the services provided by Riverside's Behavioral Medicine Department, visit our website at riversidehealthcare.org or call our Central Intake Department at (844) 442-2551.