What Gender Bias in Mental Health Looks Like—and How to Find Better Care in Colorado

What Is Gender Bias in Mental Health?

Gender bias in mental health refers to the way societal expectations and stereotypes about gender shape how symptoms are perceived, diagnosed, and treated. This bias shows up across diagnoses—often dismissing or mislabeling symptoms in both men and women and marginalized gender groups.

Patriarchy in mental health hurts everyone. For example, women are more likely to be prescribed medications rather than referred for therapy. One study in the American Psychological Association found that women are twice as likely to be prescribed antidepressants even when presenting with the same symptoms as men. Meanwhile, men may be underdiagnosed for conditions like anxiety or depression due to the assumption that they should be emotionally "strong".

A recent study concluded that while women’s frequent healthcare interactions increase their likelihood to diagnosis and treatment, men’s reluctance to seek help often results in delayed or missed diagnosis for depression.  (Walther A, Int J Equity Health. 2025).

How Gender Bias Skews ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression Diagnoses

Gender Bias in ADHD

Girls and women are often overlooked because their symptoms present differently. Instead of hyperactivity, many experience inattentiveness, emotional dysregulation, or internalized shame. This starts in childhood, with teachers more likely to report boys with disruptive symptoms of ADHD than girls with inattentive type of ADHD which can delay diagnosis for nearly 4 years and increase the impact of the impairments found with ADHD.

Gender Bias in Anxiety

Although 1 in 5 adults in the US will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, women are more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder. This may be due to the way in which women and men present symptoms, due to the reluctance to present “female-like” symptoms by men.  In women, anxiety is sometimes dismissed as "worrying too much" or attributed to hormones. For men, anxiety is often hidden behind anger or avoidance, and may go unnoticed entirely.

Gender Bias in Depression

Gender stereotypes suggest that women are "too emotional" and that men should "tough it out." These harmful assumptions mean women may be told to calm down rather than be taken seriously, while men may never get diagnosed. According to the CDC, men’s suicide rate is 4 times the rate of women, and men only get diagnosed at advanced stages of depressive disorders or after severe crises, e.g., substance abuse or suicide attempts.

Real-Life Consequences of Misdiagnosis

When gender bias creeps into clinical care, people suffer longer and harder. Misdiagnosis leads to:

• Increased risk of suicide and self-harm
• Long-term burnout and emotional exhaustion
• Unnecessary medication or lack of therapy
• Loss of self-trust and increased shame
• Increased substance abuse disorders

A study found that girls and women with undiagnosed ADHD are more likely to experience major depressive disorder (Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2019). Without accurate care, healing is delayed—sometimes for decades.

Where to Find Mental Health Care in Colorado Without the Bias

At Axis Integrated Mental Health, we understand how identity, gender, and lived experience shape your mental health journey. Our providers are trained to:

• Be aware and recognize the full spectrum of symptoms and how they present in each gender
• Listen without judgment
• Treat ADHD, anxiety, burnout, PTSD, OCD, Bipolar, and depression with an integrated, personalized approach

We offer care in Boulder, Westminster, and Denver, as well as virtual appointments for anyone in Colorado. Our team includes psychiatric providers, therapists, and advanced treatment specialists who collaborate to provide you with the right diagnosis and support more efficiently.

What Our Patients Say About Being Misunderstood and Finally Heard

“The first impression was how calm the office is… people are friendly and caring, and truly care about you, remembering your life. They want to know what’s going on, and they listen.” — Billie, a real patient of Axis Integrated Mental Health.

“My initial impressions about Axis were really positive. … They made me feel seen and genuinely cared for. … The staff at Axis made me feel like a whole person, not just a patient on a list.”
— Testimonial from a Spravato success story on Axis’ YouTube channel 

This patient’s experience highlights a common issue: when depression is misinterpreted as “being too emotional” or “stress,” especially in women or nonbinary individuals, the underlying condition often goes untreated. Too often, gender bias leads to underdiagnosis–or misdiagnosis–of depression. At Axis Integrated Mental Health, we provide depression treatment in Denver that goes beyond stereotypes. We listen without judgment and treat every patient with the individualized care they deserve. Read more patient stories on our website.

Why This Matters More Than Ever in Colorado

Colorado ranks 46th in the nation for overall mental health, according to Mental Health America (MHA, 2024). The gap is even wider for women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and caregivers, who often face added stigma or system hurdles. That's why Axis is committed to:

• Accepting nearly every insurance to increase access to advanced care
• Hiring and promoting gender bias aware psychiatric providers in our Denver, Boulder and Westminster clinics.
• Collaborating and influencing other mental health clinics to be aware through our self-funded 266K Project to prevent suicide and expand access to mental health treatment across all of Colorado

You don’t have to stay stuck. Real care exists.

She Wasn’t "Inconsistent" – She Had Undiagnosed ADHD

Meet our cofounder, Liesl Perez. For most of her life, she was told she was brilliant but careless, unreliable, or emotional. In fact, she learned 6 languages, skipped 2 years of school, but would constantly lose her keys, forget meetings and appointments, and was often chided by partners for being an "absent-minded" professor. She took on a huge load of complex projects and progressed through the ranks until she hit a plateau. It was easy to mask the fact that she chronically left a few projects unfinished by showcasing the enormous amount of work she was able to do at a certain level. But this had an impact as she was consistently overlooked by leadership teams and nearly prevented from getting a promotion because another executive thought she was “inconsistent”. Despite cofounding Axis Integrated Mental Health and having a daughter that she got diagnosed at 13, she never saw the parallels of her own symptoms until she was diagnosed at 46 with ADHD. Prior to that, she had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and didn't realize that gender bias played a role in her mental health.  

“If I could have done it all over again, I would have gotten diagnosed sooner but no one even suggested it. So many decisions would have been different. And I wouldn't have been at a near-constant state of exhaustion when my children were young.”

Within months, her treatment plan (which included therapy, TMS, ketamine and medication management) helped her find mental clarity. For the first time, she had the energy, motivation, and drive to do everything she could imagine. In the following years, Axis Integrated Mental Health went on to win ColoradoBiz Magazine’s Top Startup of the Year award, the Best of Mile High™ Award for Mental Wellness for two years in a row, named a Colorado Company to Watch and numerous other accolades.

Stories like Liesl’s are far too common, which is why Axis Integrated Mental Health is uniquely sensitive to gender bias in mental health. But with the right provider, they can end in empowerment, not exhaustion and impact the world.

FAQs

• How does gender bias affect mental health diagnoses like ADHD and anxiety?
• Why are women more likely to be misdiagnosed or prescribed medication?
• What should I look for in a gender-competent mental health provider?
• Is Axis Integrated Mental Health experienced in treating women with ADHD or depression?
• Can I get diagnosed or treated virtually if I don’t live in Boulder or Denver