It's about feeling more comfortable with yourself
A 2018 Cabinet Office report highlighted that Black adults, despite having a higher prevalence of mental health issues, were the least likely among all ethnic groups to access mental health support. By embracing culturally responsive therapy, we take a significant step towards that vision, one therapeutic relationship at a time. Research in culturally responsive therapy is also expanding, with a focus on developing and validating culturally adapted interventions for specific populations. Virtual reality simulations, for instance, are being explored as a tool to help therapists experience different cultural contexts and improve their cultural competence. One exciting area of development is the integration of technology in culturally responsive therapy. These assessments help therapists gather specific information about a client’s cultural background, beliefs, and experiences.
Like challenges in occupational health, refugee camp health risks require systematic environmental improvements. Inadequate shelter through tents or temporary structures providing insufficient protection from weather, lack of heating in cold climates, poor ventilation facilitating disease transmission, and fire risks from cooking and heating in crowded conditions all compromise health. Refugee camps and settlements, while providing temporary safety, often create new health challenges. Mental health impacts include trauma from violence, loss of family members, and witnessing atrocities, chronic stress from ongoing uncertainty and danger, grief and loss of homes, communities, and familiar lives, and fear about future prospects and family safety. Environmental exposures harm health through extreme temperatures without adequate shelter or clothing, inadequate food and water causing malnutrition and dehydration, and exposure to disease vectors like mosquitoes in areas with malaria or other diseases. Dangerous travel routes including desert crossings causing dehydration and heat exposure, sea crossings on overcrowded, unseaworthy boats risking drowning, walking long distances causing injuries and exhaustion, and traveling in crowded, poorly ventilated vehicles spreading infectious diseases all threaten health.
The strengths of the work was its focus on the individual and personal experiences of mental health practitioners, including a range of frontline providers, in rural and metropolitan settings, in a multicultural state, which increases the generalisability of the results. Further, as highlighted by some practitioners, cultural mores relating to the social position of women in some cultures, may inhibit the acceptability and uptake of their care provided by female practitioners to conservative male patients. Similarly, community liaison was also seen as crucial because it helped break down the stigmatising barrier of mental health care, put a face to an organisation, and brokered stronger therapeutic relationships between local immigrant communities and practitioners. Clear communication was integral to delivering culturally competent care and participants reported that being multilingual, having access to multilingual colleagues, and/or access and capacity to use interpreter services was fundamental to fulfilling their role.
The features category included the training subcategory, which included codes regarding the study design and training structure (e.g., training duration), and the participants subcategory, which included codes about the training sample (e.g., genders represented). The second aim was to identify curricula content and methods that were common in trainings that showed positive outcomes in each outcome domain (i.e., attitudes, knowledge, skills). For example, a review by Benuto and colleagues (2018) found trainings to be effective in increasing psychologists’ knowledge in topics such as racism and discrimination. Findings from studies involving psychologists tend to converge with those involving other health professionals.
The study by Pinfold et al., (2003) implemented educational interventions in UK secondary schools, consisting of video presentations and direct social contact with individuals who had personal experiences with mental illness . For instance, a study by Pinfold et al., (2003) showed that public campaigns using direct social contact with people with mental illness could significantly improve public attitudes towards mental health . Public awareness campaigns can dispel myths, reduce stigma, and encourage empathy towards affected individuals by promoting accurate information about mental illnesses, their prevalence, Psychiatric Services research article and the possibilities for recovery. That is to say, culture-bound syndromes refer to unique mental health conditions closely tied to specific cultures or ethnic groups. While mental illness is recognized more as a health issue, stigma still exists, often resulting in social exclusion and discrimination . In Ethiopia, the belief in supernatural causes of mental illness has been reported, leading to the stigmatization of affected individuals .
