Especificaciones de evaluación relacionadas con las dimensiones de la competencia profesional

Almost everybody in the interviews said they would seek mental health help for others and for themselves. But when answering for themselves, they tend to include caveats.

Constantine would be reluctant to seek help citing: “if there was a reason, it'd be judgmental.” Elaborating further, he added that he wouldn’t want others “thinking I'm crazy or something.” Constantine ultimately finished the question with this statement: “To tell you the truth, I wouldn't know how to.”

Reggie was also hesitant around what would encourage him to think other people should seek mental health treatment. However, he doesn’t describe someone as being crazy, just as doing something that wasn’t normal. “Yeah. I see guys like that. Just like his action and certain things he do that a normal person won’t do, so yeah, I might be like something’s wrong…Yeah. I’d probably tell them, like “you need to see what’s going on.” And if Reggie thought one of his kids were acting in a way that made him think perhaps a mental health person could help, he would definitely support that. “I’d take them,” he said.

Jon would seek help for himself, adding “Definitely. I'm even willing to prove that I don't have a problem.” He took it further by pointing out: “help is good.” Five-Percent said: “I mean I would love to talk with a psychiatrist to go a little bit further in depth with what's really going on with me.”

Some participants, though, were very adamant that if they needed help, they would seek it. For example, 21-year-old Beastmode, who has seizures and also has been diagnosed when he was younger with depression, said, “I don't sit around and have problems and just keep trying to deal with it. That's—that's how people commit suicide.” A similar sentiment about seeking help

was expressed by 28-year-old Jonathan who responded “If I ever need help, I would seek help. Yes, ma'am. That's the best way you get help.”

Initially, Mr. J responded that “I wouldn’t go see a mental health doctor…because I don’t believe I have mental health issues.” However, he agreed to take his kids if they were exhibiting mental health symptoms.

Michael Wright included the statement, “I don’t want to be evasive on that.” I assured him that I did not think being private was being evasive, and then he described how he equated his pride with being a ‘stable-minded person’

Week, who is white and both has severe mental illness and is intellectually disabled, was adamant about wanting and needing help, repeating twice “I need help, I can’t read or write. I need help I can’t read or write.” He is 36 years of age.

The various strategies that were used to deflect, challenge, and reframe having a mental illness diagnosis indicate that for the most severely mentally ill, the ability to be agile and flexible in describing or speaking about their condition seemed to help them accept it and subsequent treatment and medication. Kim K, demonstrated her verbal agility, switching back and forth, using “schizophrenia,” or more generic “brain disorder,” and even using the label “crazy” to make a point. Also, she explained the cognitive processes that underpinned her decision on what description to employ. Kim also specifically spoke about how having the support of people who came to her home and checked on her helped, and she clearly appreciated being able to access peer group support.

Chris Smalls also seemed to benefit from talk therapy and used various strategies to cope with his diagnosis. He framed it as “bipolarism,” not schizophrenia when he refers to himself. However, he only used the term schizophrenia to describe his mother. Peer support also mattered

a great deal to him, in Florida and to some extent in Georgia, although it seemed to be family networks and connection here.

The potential benefits of helping people to understand what it is they are experiencing and how to talk about their experience with others would be very beneficial. Teaching them how to avoid sharing detrimental information would also be smart, especially when it comes to younger people:

I feel like if, number one, if—let's say, for instance, this is your—it could be your first time in any type of legal trouble or your 100th time. Preparing you for how people—how society reacts to you once you get a charge, you know what I mean? Preparing you for how your neighbors are going to treat you. Because people talk, so once you get in trouble, everybody in the neighborhood's going to talk. They're going to want to know what happened. What happened when you went to jail. (LaToya)

Teaching people, especially juveniles, how to articulate experiences and maintain personal boundaries is very important. The potential ramifications of not being able to do so include harsh immediate impacts such as loss of their home, for them and for the rest of their family as well. The alternative is for parents to choose having a place to live over their child, and this decision puts that child on the street, the experience of our youngest participant Allen. If a family chooses eviction, the ensuing stress will also have a great impact on the family and the legal process, for example:

One of the other attorneys and I had one of our clients who was living in their car, and she, the mom was living in the car, and she said, "I know that my son had court. I don't know if they have a warrant out on him, but if you could get the court date reset, I can meet you back at the Starbucks so you can give me the notice. (LaToya)

Another reason to fully prepare people for what to expect can be seen in the experiences that Teresa had being involved with the criminal justice system, this is at the pre trial phase. She has pending charges with no adjudication, and so it must be remembered that she is innocent

until found guilty, in theory at least. Teresa describes, the impact on her ability to find

employment was immediate and extreme, “I don't know if it's because of what's going on, but I've put in 47 applications, and nobody's called.” Teresa had been acknowledging that she has been charged with a criminal offense, “Because they say it's better to be honest on applications, so I guess me saying that I have criminal charges pending...has had a negative effect.” The immediate harsh effects of a recently acquired stigma can impact multiple domains, including fundamental life requirements such as economic opportunity and housing.

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