In this article, a mental health help-seeking model is offered as a framework for understanding cultural and contextual factors that affect ethnic minority adolescents' pathways into mental health services. The effects of culture and context are profound across the entire help-seeking pathway, from problem identification to choice of treatment providers. The authors argue that an understanding of these help-seeking pathways provides insights into ethnic group differences in mental health care utilization and that further research in this area is needed.

Cultural and contextual influences in mental health help seeking: A focus on ethnic minority youth : Clinical adolescent psychology: Developmental psychopathology and treatment

The Arab Americans

Many young migrants and their parents are reluctant to seek help for mental health and substance use problems. Help-seeking delays can result in longer duration of untreated problems and poorer outcomes. In this study, we aimed to identify the help-seeking barriers and facilitators for anxiety, depression and alcohol and drug use problems in young people from recently established sub-Saharan African migrant communities. A qualitative study, incorporating individual, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, was undertaken in Melbourne, Australia. Twenty-eight young sub-Saharan African migrants participated in the individual interviews, and 41 sub-Saharan African-born parents and key community leaders participated in 4 focus groups. All participants were aged 16 years or over. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Themes and related sub-themes were abstracted from the data, reflecting the young people’s, parents’ and key community leaders’ beliefs about barriers and facilitators to help-seeking for mental health and substance use problems. Four help-seeking barriers were identified: stigma of mental illness, lack of mental health literacy in parents and young people, lack of cultural competency of formal help sources, and financial costs deterring access. Five help-seeking facilitators were abstracted: being open with friends and family, strong community support systems, trustworthiness and confidentiality of help-sources, perceived expertise of formal help-sources, increasing young people’s and parents’ mental health literacy. Programs that identify and build on help-seeking facilitators while addressing help-seeking barriers are needed to address mental health issues among young sub-Saharan African migrants. Strategies to address help-seeking barriers should consider counteracting stigma and increasing mental health literacy in sub-Saharan African communities, increasing health providers’ cultural competency and perceived trustworthiness, and addressing financial barriers to accessing services.

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Sub-Saharan African migrant youths' help- seeking barriers and facilitators for mental health and substance use problems: a qualitative study

Refugee women are almost five times more likely to develop postpartum depression than Canadian-born women. This can be attributed to various difficulties they faced before coming to Canada as well as during resettlement. Moreover, refugee women usually face many obstacles when accessing health services, including language and cultural barriers, as well as unique help-seeking behaviors that are influenced by various cultural and practical factors. There has been a recent, rapid influx of Syrian refugees to Canada, and many of them are childbearing women. However, little is known about the experiences that these women have encountered pre- and post-resettlement, and their perceptions of mental health issues. Thus, there is an urgent need to understand refugee women’s experiences of having a baby in Canada from a mental health perspective. A mixed methods research design included 12 Syrian refugee women who migrated to Saskatoon in 2015–16 and who were either pregnant or 1 year postpartum. The data were collected during a single focus group discussion and a structured questionnaire. Our results showed that more than half of participants have depressive symptoms, half of them have anxiety symptoms, and one sixth have PTSD symptoms. Three major themes emerged from the qualitative data: 1) Understanding of maternal depression; 2) Protective factors for mental health; and 3) Barriers to mental health services. Maternal depression is an important feature in Syrian refugee women recently resettled in Canada. Reuniting these women with their families and engaging them in culturally appropriate support programs may improve their mental health outcomes.

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Maternal depression in Syrian refugee women recently moved to Canada: a preliminary study

Researchers from around the world have conducted numerous studies in the last few decades exploring the unique cultural and religious nuances of the application of clinical psychology to Muslim clients as a response to the traditional Eurocentric narratives of psychology. This paper is a review of the last 10 years of research within this domain. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify research topical trends in the literature related to the subject. The following five themes emerged: 1) Unification of western psychological models with Islamic beliefs and practices; 2) Research on historical accounts of Islamic Psychology and its rebirth 76 Amber Haque, Fahad Khan, Hooman Keshavarzi, and Abdallah Rothman in the modern era; 3) Development of theoretical models and frameworks within Islamic Psychology; 4) Development of interventions and techniques within Islamic psychology; and 5) Development of assessment tools and scales normed for use with Muslims. Recommendations are also provided to help direct future research efforts to expand underdeveloped areas in this field.

/pdf/integrating-islamic-traditions-in-modern-psychology-research-ax19fjmbwu.pdf

Integrating Islamic Traditions in Modern Psychology: Research Trends in Last Ten Years

As in many cultures and religions, the stigma of mental illness and treatment in the Muslim immigrant community is deep- rooted. Compounded with the cultural mistrust of the Western mental health system, many in this community live with untreated mental health conditions that not only impact themselves, but impact their family and the larger community. This article examines the Muslim immigrant community in the U.S. by providing an overview of who Muslim immigrants are and some of major psychosocial and psychological issues they face. The article will examine the impact of cultural mistrust and the stigmatization related to mental health on help- seeking behaviors among Muslim immigrants. Two case studies are presented that portray some of the struggles a Muslim immigrant faces in the U.S. Based on these case studies, recommendations for providing culturally responsive services that may mediate barriers to mental health help- seeking behaviors are presented. Finally, the authors discuss implications for future research.

/pdf/mental-health-help-seeking-behaviors-of-muslim-immigrants-in-1224s0dyar.pdf

Saara Amri

Papers

Mental Health Help- Seeking Behaviors of Muslim Immigrants in the United States: Overcoming Social Stigma and Cultural Mistrust