PHOTO BY NATALIA DURON

ATLANTA—When Dunia Lobo was 12 years old, her family left Costa Rica and moved to the United States.

The transition was difficult. In Costa Rica, Lobo had grown up surrounded by family and friends who formed a close support system. In the U.S., she suddenly found herself trying to adjust to a new culture and language.

Her mother saw her daughter needed support and sought professional help.

Lobo began seeing Dr. José López, a Cuban American therapist whom she remembers as being like an uncle. During the sessions, they talked and played games. He gave her a place to speak openly and helped her understand what she was experiencing.

When their sessions ended, Lobo knew then that she wanted to help others in the same way Lopez had guided her and to teach others the importance of mental health.

Today, Lobo is a licensed professional counselor who works with children, adolescents and adults, specializing in trauma and other mental health concerns.

“I love helping people find within themselves, through support and tools, their faith, hope or stability again,” she said.

Her experience as a young immigrant also shaped the way she understands the importance of mental health care, particularly within the Hispanic community.

September—Suicide Prevention Month—serves to raise awareness about suicide and encourage conversations about mental health, Lobo said, but the topic is necessary all year long.

For Lobo and mental health evaluator Elizabeth De Leon, those conversations are especially important in Hispanic families, where cultural expectations, stigma and a desire to appear strong can sometimes make it difficult to ask for help.

Cultural mental health stigmas

De Leon graduated from Georgia State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is pursuing a master’s degree in clinical health counseling at Mercer University.

Elizabeth De Leon, intake coordinator and mental health evaluator at a counseling office, is pursuing a master’s degree in clinical health counseling and stresses the importance of mental wellbeing in Hispanic families.

Currently, De Leon is an intake coordinator and evaluator at a mental health counseling office.

“The main thing I have learned from working with people of different ages and backgrounds is how much more common people’s struggles are than we may realize,” De Leon said. “While they may be going through very different events in their lives, there are common themes of anxiety, loneliness and depression. No matter their age, people want to feel heard and seen.”

De Leon is the child of Mexican-born parents and has seen firsthand the mental health struggles young Hispanic adults face from dominant family and cultural values. She said many young people try to balance supporting parents and putting family first while also navigating early adulthood.

“I think a big part of Hispanic culture centers around putting family first and not wanting to disrupt family relationships,” she said.

For some, that can mean keeping personal struggles private rather than risking the perception that they are not strong enough. That is a widely recognized stigma among Hispanic and Latino families, De Leon said.

“Because Hispanic culture emphasizes family values so heavily, it can sometimes deter some from speaking about their struggles so as to not shake the presentation of a strong daughter or son,” De Leon said. “While the Hispanic community can be very supportive of one another, there can also be an emphasis on maintaining an image of always being ‘strong.’”

Lobo sees a similar struggle among the people she serves.

“The Latino community has many strengths. One of them is faith, family values, community, helping one another or working hard,” she said. “But sometimes not understanding mental health causes confusion about what it means to be strong.”

Often, Hispanic culture connects struggling with mental health as a sign of weakness rather than something that can happen to anyone, Lobo said. That stigma can lead people to hide their struggles or believe that mental health care is only for people with severe mental illness.

For many Hispanic families, this stereotype leads to the internal question of whether a person should seek professional help at all.

“People sometimes come to seek therapists when the symptoms are already very severe. They have been suffering for a long time and let time pass,” Lobo said.

Faith and mental health

For Catholic Hispanic families, the conversation can become even more complicated when faith is part of the way a person understands suffering.

Both Lobo and De Leon emphasized that faith can be an important source of support, but it does not eliminate the need for professional care.

De Leon said prayer, meditation, family and religion can help people feel less alone.

“Family and Catholic practices can be very beneficial to handling mental health,” she said. “Prayer, meditations and having a strong connection with family and religion can help others not feel alone in their lives.”

At the same time, she said Catholic families should understand that seeking counseling does not mean a person lacks faith.

“I believe that Catholicism and religion can be major protective factors, however, they may not be the only sources of support someone needs,” De Leon said. “Seeking professional help does not mean that someone’s faith is not strong enough but simply is another form of support alongside their faith and can aid in their mental health recovery.”

Lobo said she has encountered situations where people are told that having enough faith should prevent depression or anxiety. She compares that reasoning to telling someone that faith should prevent a physical illness.

Prayer is important, she said, but it should be part of a broader approach to care.

Lobo has seen the role that Catholic communities can play in supporting people who are struggling. She has even asked priests to pray for clients, and the priests have been available to do so.

Churches and parish communities can provide connection, prayer and practical support, Lobo said, but professional counseling also has a role.

Recognizing the signs

One of the challenges of mental health is that suffering is not always visible.

Phoenix Bishop John P. Dolan speaks to a young man following Mass at Holy Spirt Catholic Church in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 21, 2026. A new initiative by the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., and the Diocese of Phoenix promises to respond to today’s rising mental health challenges by forming mental health professionals who are clinically trained and rooted in the Catholic teaching on human dignity. (OSV News, Brett Meister, Diocese of Phoenix)

Lobo said some people become skilled at hiding what they experience. Cultural messages about being strong or not talking about family

problems can make it even easier for someone to mask symptoms.

Family members and close friends often know a person’s normal behavior, she said. Changes in the way someone speaks, behaves or interacts with others can be important.

Those changes do not always look like sadness. Depression, for example, can appear as apathy, Lobo said, as in a person moving through life without interest or emotional connection.

Children may show distress through anger, frustration or frequent tantrums. Adolescents may isolate themselves or become unusually withdrawn. While some desire for privacy is normal during adolescence, significant changes in behavior should not automatically be dismissed as “just being a teenager.”

More urgent warning signs can include expressing hopelessness or feeling trapped. Lobo encourages parents to pay attention to what their children are encountering online as well.

The first step does not always need to be a major conversation, she said. Parents can mention mental health during dinner or another ordinary moment and ask children what they know about emotions, anxiety, depression or asking for help.

Parents do not have to have all the answers, nor are they designed to be therapists, Lobo said. They can learn alongside their children and look for resources through schools, churches, doctors and mental health professionals.

Finding a way forward

For Hispanic families trying to become more open about mental health, De Leon said one place to begin is by creating a safe environment where family members can talk about what they are experiencing.

De Leon said parents and relatives should pay attention to what loved ones need rather than assuming they already know what someone is going through.

“Being supportive and listening to what your children and family members need is key,” she said.

That can be especially important when someone is having difficulty putting their feelings into words.

Lobo encourages Hispanic families to take small steps toward building healthier habits and support systems. For someone struggling with stress, she suggested establishing a regular sleep routine, finding ways to move the body and practicing stress management. That could mean taking a walk, dancing or listening to music.

She also encourages people to build a network of support rather than relying on one source. Family members, friends, parish communities, doctors and mental health professionals can each play a role.

Therapy is another essential tool for mental health recovery. It helps a person understand deeper issues and learn ways to manage what they are experiencing, Lobo said. A therapist identifies underlying symptoms and conditions to develop a treatment plan.

De Leon understands therapy may feel uncomfortable at first, but taking care of all aspects of your health, including mental health, is important.

“Everyone experiences difficult situations, and sometimes things become too much to handle on your own,” she said. “There is nothing to be ashamed of in asking for help. Counselors have gone through the education and training necessary to be there for you, and they are passionate about helping others.”

De Leon hopes for Hispanic families, continuing to talk openly about mental health will make it easier for future generations to recognize their emotional needs and seek support when necessary.

“I care deeply about the Hispanic community, and I have noticed a lot of positive changes just from when I was younger to now as an adult,” De Leon said. “So, I hope that the community can continue to be more open about mental health issues moving forward.”