Yale psychiatrist tells Westchester committee stigma keeps people from seeking mental-health care

Dr. Darius Ihinyancho, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University, told the Borderless Traders Committee on Health on Sept. 16 that stigma — personal, societal and system-level — is a major barrier to mental‑health care and “can prevent people from seeking help.”

Ihinyancho framed stigma as both an individual and structural problem that delays care and pushes people into costlier emergency‑room treatment. He highlighted Westchester demographics, saying “close to 35% of people live in Westchester speak language other than English,” and argued the county must tailor delivery to neighborhood‑level barriers including cost, language, transportation and mistrust of services.

The presentation urged a mix of strategies: contact‑based education that pairs community members with lived experience with targeted outreach, peer‑support certification paid by Medicaid, and public dashboards to track utilization and outcomes. Ihinyancho said pilots should be community‑designed, iteratively tested for 6–12 months and planned for sustainment so successful models can be scaled across Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Port Chester and Peekskill.

“I think stigma is a big topic,” Ihinyancho said, emphasizing that more education and local contact‑based programs reduce delay in care and subsequent emergency costs. Chair Jewel Williams Johnson closed the session by thanking presenters and promising follow‑up work and meetings.