People of all backgrounds can suffer from mental health issues, but some groups fare better than others.

Latinos are considered a high risk group for issues like anxiety, depression, and addiction. They are also less likely to get help. The reasons are both internal and external.

We talk to two experts to get an overview of the state of Latino mental health.

Manuel Guantez, Psy. D., LCADC

Dr. Manuel Guantez has served as the Chief Executive Officer at Turning Point since June 2001.

Dr. Guantez received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Montclair State University and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University followed by a Post Doctoral Fellowship at New York University.

In his very early career, Dr. Guantez worked in residential and outpatient addiction treatment conducting individual, group and family therapies, and coordinating programs for some of the more challenging treatment populations, including adolescents and persons with co-occurring disorders.

Dr. Guantez is an international speaker and consultant working with the United Nations to help other countries achieve the gains in combating addiction that we have seen here in the United States. A former U.S. Marine and Presidential Honor Guard, Dr. Guantez brings a wealth of diverse knowledge and experience to our field. He lives with his wife and two children in New Jersey.

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, LCSW, MS, MPH, PhD

Dr. Vincent Guilamo-Ramos is a professor and director of the doctoral program at the Silver School of Social Work. Dr. Guilamo-Ramos has expertise in the role of families in promoting adolescent health, with a special focus on preventing HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancies. Additional research interests include parent-adolescent communication, intervention research, HIV prevention, and alcohol and drug use. Dr. Guilamo-Ramos has conducted research primarily in urban, resource-poor settings, including the South Bronx, Harlem, and Lower East Side communities of New York City. In addition, Dr. Guilamo-Ramos has extended his focus to HIV-prevention among vulnerable populations in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

Dr. Guilamo-Ramos is co-director of the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health (CLAFH) at the Silver School. Dr. Guilamo-Ramos received his PhD in social welfare from SUNY Albany, and his MSW from New York University. In addition, Dr. Guilamo-Ramos holds a master’s degree in management from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU and a master’s degree in public health from the Global Health Leadership NYU MPH Program.

Photo by Pascal Maramis via Flickr