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African Americans share the same mental health issues as the rest of the population, with with additional stress due to racism, prejudice, and economic disparities. Learn why so many in the Black community avoid therapy and what can be done about it. Read More
It is certainly the case that
It is certainly the case that most African Americans do not regard psychotherapy as a good use of time and money. Whatever their reasons may be they see better value elsewhere; in a lot of cases this is mere poverty. Money that could be spent feeding children; time that could be spent earning money or on money-saving housework.
Religion and Pastors
Question: Do blacks prefer pastors and religion as opposed to therapists and psychotherapy?
It's impossible to answer a
It's impossible to answer a question like that because not all black people are religious.
Good Question...
I am black and I grow up in a religious household;however, i am not religious at all.
I've also recently decided to seek help from a mental health professional. I strongly support it, but I most likely wont share with my family that I am seeing someone.
Now, that is a good question and I can only speak from what I see and I'd say that that's a fair assumption. Most people outside and within my family would feel more comfortable taking to the pastor or God. While the poster above is correct that it's an impossible question to answer with a definitive answer, I'd say as a whole it MAYBE true.
It's not just Blacks who avoid counselling
Many people from a variety of visible minority groups avoid counselling. If they do seek counselling, it's because they've reached a crisis point or the law has intervened in some way, thus forcing them to participate in counselling. I'm from a visible minority group that heavily stigmatizes mentally ill people. I would never tell my friends and extended family members that I was seeing a psychiatrist for 3 years. I won't be treated the same way ever again and if I want to get married, that will be a strike against me.
Seeking mental help means weak faith?
Unfortunately too many in the Black community feel that seeking mental health is contrary to being a Christian (or of other faith). But that is not the case. Seeking counseling is not an indictment, or a weakness, of one's faith. Quite the contrary.
Just as all people can have physical conditions/disorders, they, too, can have mental disorders. "I'll just get my healing from God" is a common refrain...much to the person's detriment. People say they'll "look to God for everything"; but God can use others--as in doctors--to aid in the healing plan, whether physical or psychological.
I wrote about this a few months ago: "When Faith and Illness--Including Mental Illness--Collide" on my blog here at PT:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/black-womens-health-and-happiness
Asian women in the UK
There is an increasing interest, in the UK, in the question of why Asian (for this we typically mean those whose from an Indian sub-continent ethnic grouping)women are so reticent to seek psychotherapy. I've yet to find a definitive piece of research on the question. It's likely, I feel, to stem from the same factors: i.e. the stigma of confessing to a psychological issue which family and religion cannot resolve alone. I'd be grateful if anybody could point to me to any research on this. Best wishes. Paul
Check out the following
Check out the following article:
Shariff, Aneesa (2009). Ethnic identity and parenting stress in South Asian families: Implications for culturally sensitive counselling. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 43, 35-46.
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