Summary Of Stephanie Brooks Sharing Hopelessness

These factors and more can have devastating consequences on the children whose parents do not believe them. I interviewed Stephanie Brooks, a 19 year old who suffers from depression and so does her mother. Her family were actually refugees that fled from Guatemala during some of the worst years of the Civil War that was plaguing the country; she is a first generation Guatemalan born here in the United States. Brooks has been suffering from depression since the age of 11 years old; she did not communicate this with her parents for many years to come. This was because of her father and family’s reaction towards finding out about her mother’s depression. Stephanie describes their reactions as those of dismissal, and even disbelief; she phrased

By educating the healthcare providers, they are showing a genuine interest in ensuring future generations will not have to suffer in the way they did. Another great organization is the National Alliance on Mental Health and their project focused on Latino mental health. Their project is titled “Compartiendo Esperanza”, which translates to ‘Sharing Hope’, and their goal is to increase awareness by providing videos and handouts. Organizations like these are so essential because of the way they connect to the community. Most of the people involved are members of the community it operates in, meaning they have bonds with the local people other bigger organizations may not have. Roots like those will reach farther and have more of an impact within its target because Latino’s value ties like

The authors Carrasco and Guzman understand this and in an effort to help describe the “The Family Coping Skills”” program; this programs combines treatment with cultural awareness. This is an effort to “to prevent depression in low-income Latina mothers” and to incorporate other Latino cultural values (90). This form of treatment includes: “family meetings, flexibility with language, culturally relevant material, and culturally competent group leaders” (90). This program resulted in a reduction by 36% of depressive symptoms from before and after the intervention, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory (90). Educating not only the community but those in charge of helping is a crucial solution in the battle for mental illness awareness. With results like these it could encourage others to seek treatment, since the professionals are properly trained. Family is a huge aspect in the culture but it all centers around the mother. Which relates back to my experience with mental