Introduction

Invisible disabilities are a type of disability that is not visible to the human eye. Invisible disabilities can include arthritis, chronic pain, and mental health disabilities (Invisible Disabilities Association, 2025). Mental health disabilities include anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, bipolar disorder, etc. These disabilities are often not visible to others because their symptoms are not always apparent from the outside. In higher education, students often feel increased pressure due to higher workloads, financial constraints, and the challenge of finding a work-life balance. Since the pandemic, it has been reported in Ontario that at least 3 in 4 higher education students have experienced poor mental health (Chatoor et al., 2023). However, this statistic does not take into account the struggles created for women of colour with mental health disabilities in higher education. Women of colour are more likely to experience mental health disorders as there is a lack of awareness and an increased cultural stigma regarding mental health (Kant et al., 2023). Some barriers that women of colour with mental health disabilities experience in higher education include ​​stigma and lack of awareness, intersectional discrimination, and a lack of culturally competent mental health services. These barriers hinder the academic performance and advancement of women students of colour with mental health disabilities because they are not receiving the proper accommodations needed from institutions to pursue their academic careers.

Barriers for Women Students of Colour in Higher Education

Culture and Stigma

For women students of colour, culture plays an important role in understanding mental health. The stigma that surrounds mental health in these cultures downplays the severity of these issues and also dismisses the long-term effects they have on young women of colour. Many African, Caribbean, and Indian cultures often push a strong woman of colour stereotype, which puts pressure on these students to be almost perfect in academia (National Women’s Law Center, 2023). These stereotypes can result in women of colour consistently putting school first, despite being mentally unwell to do so or negative self-talk when students do not receive a particular grade. These notions can cause women students of colour with mental health disabilities to shy away from using accessibility services offered to them in higher education, as well as downplay the validity of their disability in an academic setting. The idea of perfectionism works alongside mental health in women of colour, as the culture pushes women to be perfect, and anything less than that means that they have failed (National Women’s Law Center, 2023). This pressure creates more mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and often a lot of rage and resentment (National Women’s Law Center, 2023). The culture also persists in higher education because of the stereotypes that educators, policymakers, administrators, and mental health providers continue to enforce onto young women of colour due to their unconscious biases and misinformation (Parker, et al., 2022), resulting in a cycle that repeats itself and enforces the dismissal of young women of colour’s mental health. Women of colour get asked to be the ‘fixers’ of a broken system they did not break in the first place (Pulliam, 2025), creating an extra mental load for them to receive the same treatment as a white cisgendered male. This lack of understanding creates gaps within the higher education system for women of colour and their mental well-being. This gap is then further widened by the fact that women of colour experience two forms of discrimination, both sexism and racism, simultaneously.

Multiple Forms of Discrimination

As previously mentioned, women students of colour in higher education experience two forms of discrimination simultaneously. This can cause this group to feel further isolated and alienated within the higher education system. A third form of discrimination comes into play for women students of colour with mental health disabilities, which is sanism. Sanism, also known as mentalism, derives from ableism, where “normal” or “sane” is considered privileged and those with mental health disorders are subject to discrimination (Poole et al., 2012). Therefore, women students of colour with mental health disabilities would experience racism, sexism, and sanism/mentalism while completing their academic careers in higher education. However, most of these terms often fall under the blanket term of “systemic discrimination,” undermining and dismissing the severity that each form of discrimination has on this group of students. Multiple forms of discrimination can often lead to more mental health-related issues, such as depression (Varagas et al., 2020).

As previously stated, many women students of colour with mental health disabilities do not utilise the mental health services on campus because of the cultural stigma embedded in their lifestyle and the lack of culturally relevant services offered by higher education institutions. Therefore, this group of students continue to silently suffer with their mental health struggles throughout their academic career. These silent struggles can result in these students having extreme thoughts of suicide, suicidal ideation, or, in worse cases, suicide attempts and self-harm (Butler-Barnes et al., 2022). This group of students often feel unsupported and is taught that finding support makes them weak. Therefore, the question remains of how higher education institutions can change their support services to become culturally relevant to women students of colour with mental health disabilities that do not rely on the group to teach them how to do it. It is essential to note that placing the responsibility on this group can result in an extraneous cognitive load, adding more stress to their personal lives and thus worsening their mental well-being.

Lack of Culturally Relevant Accessibility Services

Women students of colour with disabilities have a different culture and also have unique experiences. This results in them not receiving culturally relevant support in higher education. The lack of culturally appropriate support occurs because most of the time, accessibility services lack the training needed to deal with various cultures, focusing primarily on Western culture and Western experiences. The superwoman schema is a framework that represents the mental health barriers that women of colour experience within their culture; this includes their need to project strength, suppress emotions, resist feelings of vulnerability and dependence, succeed despite limited resources, and prioritize caregiving over self-care (Woods-Giscombe et al., 2016). Due to the lack of understanding in higher education mental health services, the mental health needs of this group go unseen and unheard of because they can hide their struggles extremely well. Not addressing mental health needs can result in poorer academic performance and have severe life-long psychological effects.

Unconscious bias and stereotypes can lead to the dismissal of culturally relevant practices for racialized women. The stereotype of the strong independent woman of colour persists, and while this may be true for some, it is a blanket term used to define everyone. Women of colour with mental health disabilities are usually underdiagnosed for affective disorders and overdiagnosed for psychotic disorders; therefore, they end up receiving improper care (Woods-Giscombe et al., 2016). Improper diagnosis can cause women of colour to shy away further from therapy as they receive improper treatment, and they see therapy as a form of weakness, continuing the cycle of unmet needs of mental health for women of colour (Ward et al., 2009). Implementing culturally relevant mental health services can allow both women of colour with mental health disabilities and higher education institutions to have a better understanding of cultures and how cultures affect education, because the culture outside of school also affects the culture inside of school. When struggling emotionally, it is hard to always suppress emotions and focus on learning. Therefore, creating a positive learning environment that prioritizes culturally relevant mental health services is important for breaking the cycle and debunking the stereotype of a strong woman of colour to represent that it is okay not to be okay all of the time.

Mental Health Accessibility Solutions

Improving Access to Digital Mental Health Interventions

A way to support women of colour with mental health disabilities in higher education is by improving access to digital mental health interventions (DMHI). DMHI includes mental health apps and online initiatives (Kodish et al., 2023). Higher education institutions may have online counselling services or other online mental health resources for students. One way to help students of colour access DMHI is to represent them in mental health service marketing (Kodish et al., 2023). By including racialized students in online marketing, such as social media campaigns for school-based or school-endorsed DMHI, women of colour may be more inclined to try these services. There is often a stigma associated with using mental health services among women of colour. Women of colour may feel more comfortable seeking DMHI if they see other students of colour at their school using these services and realize it is okay to seek support.

Another way to improve access to DMHI among students of colour is to engage these individuals in the codesign of resources (Kodish et al., 2023). Creating courses at school where racialized women help design DMHI could help the services become more culturally relevant. Codesign can also help services become geared towards specific issues that women of colour with disabilities face, such as the pressure to be perfect. These women could be involved in the codesign of DMHI because they have lived experience as a woman of colour with a mental health disability. These women would have more perspective on the services that would help them.

Additionally, racialized women would better understand the services that would increase their comfort when accessing help. Although including women of colour in the codesign of resources could be an extra stressor, offering them course credit could be an incentive to get them involved in the design of DMH, without adding a burden. Improving access to DMHI by involving racialized women in promotional campaigns and resource codesign enhances mental health accessibility.

Online Cultural Training for Staff and Students

Incorporating online cultural training for staff and students could improve mental health accessibility for racialized women undertaking postsecondary education. Training students, instructors and counsellors on how to identify biases and microaggressions towards Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) students can be a way to support the welfare of racialized women at school (Fournier, n.d.). Students and staff can also be trained on methods for decreasing biases and microaggressions towards BIPOC students (Fournier, n.d.). Online modules are a way to provide students and staff with cultural training on issues such as intersectionality, biases, equity, inclusion, and stereotypes (Fournier, n.d). If school counsellors are more aware of problems facing racialized women with mental health disabilities, they may be better able to support them. If racialized women feel counsellors are knowledgeable about the issues they face, they may feel more inclined to continue with counselling sessions or recommend the sessions to their peers. Educating students and instructors about issues facing racialized women could help them be more accepting of women of colour. If women of colour feel more accepted at school, this could improve their mental well-being.

Online training specifically for students can also be a way to improve mental health accessibility for women of colour. Robey and Dickter (2022) describe a study in which White students at a predominantly White institution (PWI) participated in an online training initiative over four weeks. Since discrimination towards racialized students is common in PWIs, the training focused on helping White students develop cultural understanding (Robey & Dickter, 2022). The interactive training included reflection questions and role-play scenarios (Robey & Dickter, 2022). After completing the training, students had significantly greater cultural understanding, which could lead to a better university climate (Robey & Dickter, 2022). Improving cultural understanding could help students become more empathetic toward racialized women at school, such as those with mental health concerns. A more inclusive school climate could potentially improve mental health symptoms, such as anxiety, among racialized women. Online cultural training is a way to improve the well-being of women of colour with mental health disabilities.

Conclusion

Mental health disabilities, including anxiety and depression, are experienced by women of colour attending higher education institutions. Women of colour may be hesitant to seek support due to the cultural stigma associated with receiving mental health care, multiple forms of discrimination that they experience, and a lack of culturally sensitive mental health services. A solution for improving mental health accessibility is improving DHMI so racialized women can access these services and benefit from them. Another solution for improving mental health accessibility is providing cultural training for students and staff, so they are more aware of issues facing racialized women. Leveraging online resources for mental health services and training can enhance the well-being of women of colour with mental health disabilities, as well as lead to a more supportive and inclusive school environment.

References

Butler-Barnes, S. T., Leath, S., Inniss-Thompson, M. N., Allen, P. C., D’Almeida, M. E. D. A., & Boyd, D. T. (2022). Racial and Gender Discrimination by Teachers: Risks for Black Girls’ Depressive Symptomatology and Suicidal Ideation. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 28(4), 469–482. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000538

Chatoor, K., Pilla, N., Balata, L., Shah, H., & Kaufman, A. (2023). Supporting student mental health in Ontario: Exploring best practices and identifying gaps. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. https://heqco.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Supporting-Student-Mental-Health-in-Ontario-FINAL-ENGLISH-VERSION.pdf

Fournier, E. (n.d.). Providing Mental Health Support for BIPOC Students. Workplace Options. https://www.workplaceoptions.com/blog/providing-mental-health-support-for-bipoc-students/

Invisible Disabilities Association. (2025). What Is An Invisible Disability? Invisible Disabilities® Association. https://invisibledisabilities.org/what-is-an-invisible-disability/

Kant, T., Sorkhou, M., Angela, G., Katz, J. L., Sharif-Razi, M., & George, T. P. (2023, July 5). Mental Health Care for Women of Color: Risk Factors, Barriers, and Clinical Recommendations. Psychiatric Times. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/mental-health-care-for-women-of-color-risk-factors-barriers-and-clinical-recommendations

Kodish, T., Schueller, S., & Lau, A. (2023). Barriers and strategies to improve digital mental health intervention uptake among college students of color: A modified Delphi study. Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, 33(1), 10-23. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589979122000543

National Women’s Law Center. (2023). “Telling people means I’m weak; it means I can’t; it means I failed”: Six women of color share their experiences with mental illness—and the stigma it can carry. https://nwlc.org/six-women-of-color-share-their-experiences-with-mental-illness-and-the-stigma-it-can-carry/

Parker, J. S., Haskins, N., Clemons, A., McClure, E., & Washington, J. (2022). Early career Black women in school-based mental health fields: Understanding their experiences of workplace discrimination. Journal of School Psychology, 92, 49–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2022.02.004

Poole, J.M.,  Jivraj, T., Arslanian, A., Bellows, K., Chiasson, S., Hakimy, H., Pasini, J., Reid, J. (2012). Sanism, ‘Mental Health’, and Social Work/Education: A Review and Call to Action, Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of 2012 Social Work Analysis, Research, Polity, and Practice, 1, 20-36. https://doi.org/10.48336/IJDBHR4913

Pulliam, N. (2025). Worthy of More: Systemic Failures Women of Color Face in Higher Education. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. https://www.diverseeducation.com/opinion/article/15738268/worthy-of-more-systemic-failures-women-of-color-face-in-higher-education

Robey, N., & Dickter, C. (2022). Internet‐based cultural competence training for White undergraduate students at a predominantly White university. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 52(9), 837–850. https://doi.org/10.1111/jasp.12881

Ward, E. C., Clark, L. O., & Heidrich, S. (2009). African American Women’s Beliefs, Coping Behaviors, and Barriers to Seeking Mental Health Services. Qualitative Health Research, 19(11), 1589–1601. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732309350686

Woods-Giscombe, C., Robinson, M. N., Carthon, D., Devane-Johnson, S., & Corbie-Smith, G. (2016). Superwoman Schema, Stigma, Spirituality, and Culturally Sensitive Providers: Factors Influencing African American Women’s Use of Mental Health Services. Journal of Best Practices in Health Professions Diversity, 9(1), 1124–1144. http://search.proquest.com.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/scholarly-journals/superwoman-schema-stigma-spirituality-culturally/docview/1925183438/se-2

Vargas, S. M., Huey, S. J., & Miranda, J. (2020). A Critical Review of Current Evidence on Multiple Types of Discrimination and Mental Health. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(3), 374–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000441