How Sociocultural Context Influences Attitudes toward Therapy

After reading Crazy like Us, I believe that Mental illness is universal / globalized level. The case studies we read shows that there will be different symptoms depending on the culture to describe a disease. Some of the pros to this is being able to improve the overall definition that used to describe a disease. We can use more than just the American studies to describe anoxia, and find a way to help patients who suffer from it in different places around the world. One of the cons to making an overall definition of a mental disease will not apply to how someone functions. An example of this is the diagnosing of depression in japan and how they perceive depression is different from an American who thinks on more of an individualist and reflective

Although about 450 million people in the world currently are suffering from a mental illness, many untreated, the topic still remains taboo in modern society (Mental Health). For years, people with mental illnesses have been shut away or institutionalized, and despite cultural progression in many areas, mental illnesses are still shamed and rarely brought to light outside of the psychiatric community. The many different forms in which mental illness can occur are incredibly prevalent in the world today, and there is a substantial debate about the way that they should be handled. Some people are of the opinion that mental illness is merely a variance in perception and that it either can be fixed through therapy or should not be treated at

Mental health illnesses affect everyone. It is highly prevalent affecting people of all ages, gender, cultures, and social groups. Attitudes towards mental health illnesses vary among individuals and often are highly influenced by the various cultures that the individuals identify with. Culture as a social concept can be defined as a set of norms, values, behaviours, and beliefs that are common and shared amongst a group of individuals (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). Culture can be applicable to groups like Asians and Americans but also to groups of shared norms, beliefs, and values established within professions such as the culture of patients and practitioners. Culture provides these groups with structure and context to understanding their society and the world as a whole. Culture influence a wide range of aspects of mental health, including how mental health is perceived by the patient, how the patient will experience mental health stigma, and how they cope with symptoms of mental health illness. Additionally, these cultural influences impact the relationship between the patient and the practitioner in a number of ways.

According to Spencer et al. Asian Americans often stigmatize mental health. As a result many individuals forgo taking advantage of mental health services because it promotes cultural feelings of shame or embarrassment.2 The article analyzed the connection between discrimination and the usage of mental health services on a national sample of Asian Americans.

In addition to being more likely to suffer from domestic abuse and therefore develop several mental disorders CBT is known to treat, South Asian women are also more likely to have negative help-seeking attitudes; these attitudes are influence by several factors related to South Asian culture. In many South Asian countries, mental illness is attached to an enormous amount of stigma, and is rarely treated like a health problem. Because of this cultural climate, South Asian women have an extremely difficult time not

On the other hand, knowledge and culture factors can influenced the perception of mental illness. For example, myths about mental health illness can lead to development of

Growing up, I spent summers visiting my family in Germany. There remains a hesitance to seek therapy due in part to the oppression during Nazi-rule. Information was not confidential and anyone that was deemed to have mental illness was at risk of being euthanized, sterilized, or used in experiments. I visited Russia for study abroad for one month. The culture there also has its differences, such as openly profiling. The reason that I am discussing these different cultures is because I believe that psychology is universal, being that there are so many different aspects to cultural behaviors. Even in Asia, the use of mindfulness is a part of Buddhism, which has slowly gained momentum in the Western philosophy of treatment.

Culture often has large differences in a society in terms of common interest, belief and sense of the real word. Definition of culture is the way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time. The majority of world population, even some uncivilized, primitive villages in Africa, has owned culture that member of the society comply and give them guidelines for the way to live a life. In Ethan Watters’ text “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan”, he talks about how different culture brought difference view about the same incident, depression, mental illness and its medication. He explains that Japanese culture has a different understanding and definition of depression and mental illness as compared with American culture. In Japanese culture, doctors distinguish depression and mental illness as very rare and crucial matters that makes patients going to the mental hospital for over a year. In contrast, in American culture, everyone can get instant medical services about depression and mental illness whenever people need it. As a member of a culture, an individual’s life is affected by the culture since that culture is what he is living in, which causes people of each culture have their way to handle a matter. Unfortunately, when it comes to an opportunity about seeking profit, people or organizations who have power, like pharmaceutical companies, will try to bring a method that globalizes culture differences to

Mental health disorders are a problem not only American’s face. It is a worldwide problem that today we still are unclear of what causes these disorders. “Mental health can be defined as a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well being” (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). Mental health disorder can affect children all the way to the elderly. Stigma and discrimination can add to the suffering for mental health patients. It often leads to potential clients turn away and never find help because of the labels people put on

Therapy has been used for many generations as a mean to resolve dilemmas in a persons’ life. Unfortunately, due to cultural aspects, therapy is generally centered on an individual. We typically presume that any problem that one may exhibit can be solved through personal realizations. However, society and therapists alike are

al, 2015; Pearl et. al, 2017). Because of this, it is important that future studies are conducted that investigate the prevalence of the mental health stigma in the United States so that nation-wide programs may be directed to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Enumerating on the negative effects of the mental illness stigma is relatively easy given the fact that there is considerable research on the subject. For example, Corrigan (2004) notes that mental health stigma is linked to decreased access to mental health care in those who need it, which in turn exacerbates their situation and further perpetuates the idea that lack of proper mental health care is acceptable. According to Oexle et. al (2015), mental illness stigma is linked to a higher risk for suicidal ideation and feelings of hopelessness in those with mental health problems, which results in an increased risk of suicide. In addition, the effects of the stigma can be seen throughout the therapeutic process. As Pearl et. al note (2017), increased internalized stigma is associated with worse mental health condition, and decreased stigma results in decreased symptomatic severity in those with mental health issues. This means that if someone feels highly stigmatized throughout the treatment process that they will likely recover more slowly than those who feels less stigmatized. This again proves why it is important to study which populations suffer the most from mental health stigmatization so that it can be properly addresses in hopes of reducing the countless negative effects associated with

“…the ability of practitioners to identify, intervene and treat mental health complaints in ways that recognise the central role that culture plays in unwellness.”

Brown, T. N., Donato, K. M., Laske, M. T., & Duncan, E. M. (2012). Race, Nativity, Ethnicity, and Cultural Influences in the Sociology of Mental Health. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health, 255-276.

Mental health—and the stigma that comes along with it—is a very important issue, one of global importance. Shah and Beinecke explain that 450 to 500 million people suffer from mental illnesses (15). Just considering the amount of people who suffer from mental illness is enough to prove that this is a global issue. Despite the large amounts of people who are affected by mental illness, only one third of countries have some sort of program to help (15). This shows the lack of concern for those who suffer from mental illness. Stereotypes affect many people, and those with mental illness are no exception. Everyone has their own preconceived perspectives and notions of mental health, and many of them are uninformed and unjustified. It is up to us to start changing our viewpoints on mental health.

As mentioned in the literature review, no studies have focused on socio cultural aspects of Therapeutic relation ship in Indian outpatient physiotherapy department. Therefore, the intention of this study is to seek an in-depth understanding of socio cultural factors that associates with therapeutic relationship in outpatient physiotherapy settings in India by using a focused ethnographic design. This study will be conduct through two phases. The first phase of this study will be focused on participant observation and on the basis of the findings from the first phase of the study, the second stage will be conducted by using semi structured interviews.