TY - JOUR
T1 - Beyond Stigma
T2 - Barriers to Discussing Mental Health in Refugee Populations
AU - Shannon, Patricia J.
AU - Wieling, Elizabeth
AU - Simmelink-McCleary, Jennifer
AU - Becher, Emily
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2015/5/4
Y1 - 2015/5/4
N2 - Mental health stigma remains one of the most commonly cited reason for why refugees fail to access mental health services. This study looks beyond stigma to explore refugees’ perspectives on why it is difficult to discuss mental health. Ethnocultural methodologies informed 13 focus groups with 111 refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Somali, and Ethiopia. Findings describing reasons why it is difficult to discuss mental health include a history of political repression, fear, the belief that talking does not help, lack of knowledge about mental health, avoidance of symptoms, shame, and culture. Recommendations for empowering and educating refugees are discussed.
AB - Mental health stigma remains one of the most commonly cited reason for why refugees fail to access mental health services. This study looks beyond stigma to explore refugees’ perspectives on why it is difficult to discuss mental health. Ethnocultural methodologies informed 13 focus groups with 111 refugees from Burma, Bhutan, Somali, and Ethiopia. Findings describing reasons why it is difficult to discuss mental health include a history of political repression, fear, the belief that talking does not help, lack of knowledge about mental health, avoidance of symptoms, shame, and culture. Recommendations for empowering and educating refugees are discussed.
KW - Mental health stigma
KW - Refugee mental health
KW - Refugee trauma
KW - Torture
KW - War trauma
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84926416142&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/15325024.2014.934629
DO - 10.1080/15325024.2014.934629
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84926416142
SN - 1532-5024
VL - 20
SP - 281
EP - 296
JO - Journal of Loss and Trauma
JF - Journal of Loss and Trauma
IS - 3
ER -