Personal Health Recommendation: Seek Help

The efficacy of treatment is well documented, according to the main finding of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. There is evidence, described in this Supplement, that racial and ethnic minorities benefit from mental health treatment. And it is abundantly clear that good treatment is preferable to no treatment at all. Untreated mental disorders can have dire consequences — distress, disability, and, in some cases, suicide. Therefore, this Supplement underscores the personal health recommendation of the earlier report: Every person, regardless of race or ethnicity, should seek help if they have a mental health problem or symptoms of a mental disorder.

Individuals are encouraged to seek help from any source in which they have confidence. If they do not improve with the help received from the first source, they are encouraged to keep trying. At present, members of minority groups may experience limited availability of, and access to, culturally sensitive treatments. With time, access to these services should improve as a result of awareness of this problem and the courses of action identified in this Supplement. In the meantime, anyone who needs help must hear a simple, yet resounding, message of hope: Treatment works and recovery is possible.

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