In a lot of communities of color, mental health struggles have historically been met with silence rather than support. Not out of a lack of care, but because of deeply rooted messages about strength, privacy, and what’s appropriate to share outside the family. “We don’t air our business” and “just pray about it” are common enough refrains that many people never learn there’s another option alongside them, not instead of them.
As a provider whose own heritage informs how I practice, I understand this weight personally, not just professionally. The reasons behind that silence are real and worth naming honestly: a documented history of mistreatment and mistrust between communities of color and the medical establishment, a cultural premium placed on resilience and self reliance, and a genuine shortage of providers who reflect or understand a patient’s background. None of that is a character flaw in any individual. It’s context, and it’s exactly the kind of context I try to understand before a patient ever walks through my door.
Silence doesn’t make struggles disappear. It tends to make them heavier and more isolating, and it delays care until symptoms are more severe than they needed to become. Depression, anxiety, and trauma left unaddressed don’t stay contained to one person. They show up in relationships, work, and physical health, often for years longer than necessary.
Good care doesn’t require a client to explain or justify their culture before getting help. It means a provider who can hold space for faith, family expectations, and cultural context alongside clinical treatment, not in competition with it. It means never assuming a client’sclients beliefs are an obstacle to work around, but understanding them as part of a complete picture of who they are.
Ohana means family, and I built this practice to include everyone who walks through my door, exactly as they are. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner serving Minnesota by telehealth, with in-person visits available at my Edina office, I never ask clientsclientss to leave a part of their identity at the entrance. Whatever brought them in, and whatever context shapes how they experience it, is welcome in the conversation.
It can start with one honest conversation, one appointment, one decision that this doesn’t have to be carried alone or in silence. That decision doesn’t undo generations of messaging overnight, but it’s still where change actually begins, and I’d be honored to be part of that first step with you.
If you’ve been carrying something alone, you don’t have to keep carrying it that way. Schedule a consultation with me at Ohana Mental Health, serving Minnesota by telehealth, with in-person visits available in Edina.
