Fewer than half of Americans with severe mental disorders seek treatment, and ethnic minorities are even less likely than Caucasians to ask for and receive treatment, said Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., at the 16th annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy.

The symposium on ethnic minorities and mental health was held last month at the Carter Center in Atlanta. It highlighted the upcoming Surgeon General’s supplemental report on that topic and its goals of rectifying mental health care disparities among ethnic minority populations.

"The best news of this report is that we can treat 80 percent to 90 percent of those with mental health disorders and return them to healthy, productive lives," Satcher said.

The lack of health insurance, the stigma associated with mental illness, and distrust of doctors in the system are widespread within ethnic minority populations, Satcher said. African Americans, in particular, distrust what they see to be a standard "white" health care system, and Asian Americans are especially reluctant to ask for help for fear of being shunned by their family and community, he said.

The low number of insured ethnic minorities and the low efficiency of the U.S. health care system have led to poor access to treatment, Satcher said. "Eleven million children lack access to the health care system," he said. "Our system lacks balance. One of three Hispanics is uninsured. One of four African Americans is uninsured."

Another symposium speaker was Alvin Poussaint, M.D., a noted Harvard Medical School psychiatrist and the author of Lay My Burden Down: Unraveling Suicide and the Mental Health Crisis Among African Americans.

"It was only 35 years ago that we began to get rid of segregated hospitals," Poussaint said. "Blacks had to trade their dignity to get medical care. This fear and distrust run very deep."

African Americans associate psychiatrists with the justice system. Many believe that "[t]here are only two people who can lock you up—a cop and a psychiatrist," he said.

Like other ethnic minorities, African Americans suffer from a lack of affordable health insurance and the stigma surrounding mental illness, Poussaint said.

Satcher and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, a longtime mental health advocate, both called for more funding for research, a national strategy for reducing the stigma of mental illness, and parity for mental health treatment in health plans.

Although progress is slow, Satcher pointed to a recent event that he hopes will inspire change. A law signed by President Bill Clinton that takes effect in 2001 dictates any health care plan for federal employees must include parity for mental health treatment.

Representatives from more than 100 major mental health organizations participated in the symposium.

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Kay Torrance is communications coordinator at the Carter Center.