WELCOME TO MENTAL
HEALTH CULTURAL HEALING
Presented
By Richard Oni, Ph.D.
November 16th, 2013
Overview of Today’s Presentation
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Does Culture matter in Mental Health
intervention or healing?
Role of culture in Mental Health
Intervention
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Culture of the client
The culture of the client influences many
aspects of mental health, mental illness, and
patterns of health care utilization.
Symptoms, presentation, and
meaning
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The symptoms of mental disorders are found
worldwide there are differences in the way
that each client describe or present their
symptoms to their clinicians. There are some
well recognized differences in symptoms
presentation across culture.
Role of Culture
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What might it mean for us to
approach mental health
from a culturally sensitive
lens?
How will each of us take
responsibility for upholding
an ethic of cultural
relevance and critical
thinking as we discuss the
multiple dimensions of what
is known about mental
health as well as the
populations we represent
and work with?
Cultural Competence Questions to Ponder
About. .
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How do we know that our constructs around mental health mean the
same thing to our clients?
DO processes for obtaining informed consent need to be modified?
Is evidence-based and best practices appropriate for people from
Sub-Saharan African communities
What adaptations are necessary to make sure our treatment
programs are effective?
How can we begin to see mental health and psychotherapy through
the eyes of culture?
How much training ( as well as anxieties) do you have working with
issues related to cultural relevance with different populations?
Culture Influences and Affects all Aspects
of the Illness:
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It affects the relationship between the client and the
clinician
Culture accounts for variation in how clients
communicate their symptoms and which one they
report
Culture influences definition of mental illness
Culture explains the cause of mental illness
Culture and beliefs about how to fix the problem and
who should fix the problem
Culture influences motivation to seek help and also
impacts how mental illness is experienced
Continued . .
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Culture influences what type of coping styles and
social supports people have
Culture influences the meanings that people impart
to their illness
Culture dictates how much stigma is attached to an
illness
Culture relates to how people cope with everyday
problems and types of adversity
Some aspects of culture also underlie culture-bound
syndromes (sets of symptoms much more common
in some cultural communities than others.
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Culture influences expectation between the
clinician and the client ( different assumptions
about what a clinician is supposed to do, how
a client should act and what treatments are
available)
Everyone, and not just those from cultural
communities have “culture” therefore
clinicians must mindful of their own
perspectives and how these interplay with
those of the clients and families (as relevant)
Recommendations
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Service providers need to understand the help seeking
practices of immigrants and refugees and through which
a victim’s trauma incubates or is internalized.
Practitioners and clinicians need to allow clients to teach
them about what healing means in their culture or
country of origin.
Establish professional relationship, high in trust with high
personal outcomes.
Acknowledge language limitations on adequate self
expressions of symptoms.
Clinicians and practitioners need to consult with service
providers who have expertise in serving African
Immigrant populations to upgrade their knowledge and
skills.
“THERE IS NO
GREATER
SORROW ON
EARTH THAN
THE LOSS OF
ONE’S NATIVE
LAND”