Hispanics in the central San Joaquin Valley and the state are not getting the mental-health services they need, a UC Davis report released Monday said.

The two-year study concluded that the stigma of mental illness prevents many Hispanics from seeking help and there are few health providers who are fluent in their native languages or who understand their cultures to provide appropriate help.

Untreated mental health needs are a very common problem among the state’s Hispanics, said Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola, lead author of the study and director of the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the University of California at Davis.

Depression, substance and alcohol abuse and anxiety are among the most prevalent mental-health conditions among Hispanics, the researchers said.

The “Community-Defined Solutions for Latino Mental Health Disparities” report gathered information from 550 Hispanics at community forums in 13 cities, including Fresno, and at two high schools in the state.

The results are a product “of going to communities and learning from them what mattered to them in terms of mental health concerns and in terms of solutions,” Aguilar-Gaxiola said during a teleconference from UC Davis.

Read more at the Fresno Bee