Embarking on the journey to break down mental health stigma

Misunderstanding and Lack of Awareness

In some cultures, mental health issues often grapple with misunderstanding and a general lack of awareness of mental health, counselling and psychotherapy. Cultural differences and varying societal norms can also contribute to misconceptions about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of mental illnesses. The first step towards combating this involves fostering understanding and disseminating accurate information about mental health. This calls for tailoring information to be culturally adaptable, catering to diverse cultural contexts.

Avoidance

Stigma can breed avoidance, and this avoidance can extend to a reluctance to discuss mental health altogether, perpetuating a cycle of silence and isolation. It is imperative to break through this barrier by encouraging open conversations and creating supportive environments where individuals feel safe and comfortable sharing their experiences.

Cultural and Religious Beliefs

Cultural and religious beliefs can play a significant role in shaping attitudes towards mental health. In some cultures, faith can be a vital resource for support. Addressing stigma requires a respectful dialogue that acknowledges, understands, and integrates faith and cultural norms on mental health. My doctoral research focus is on the role of faith and culture in the therapeutic relationship.

Step 2 - Academic changes - positive steps towards change

To initiate a real shift to foster positive change in the profession, we must give careful consideration to our training programs, on our professional courses we have taken some positive steps towards this by implementing ongoing changes to enhance the inclusivity, in my professional practice as a psychotherapist I have personally designed counselling services to be culturally adaptive and sensitive, bringing this experience to our courses further enhance program inclusivity. Steps take include:

Scholarship Initiatives

Recognising the need for increased representation, efforts have been made to provide scholarships specifically targeting students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. This has resulted in a notable rise in the enrolment of students from diverse backgrounds in mental health training programs. For example, before the scholarship, we had a certain number of students; with the scholarship, this year's intake has been the most inclusive with a confirmed increase (I have checked our numbers, and this is correct).

Outreach Programs

Community engagement through outreach programs has been instrumental in raising awareness and challenging cultural taboos surrounding mental health. Visits to local schools, such as Bell Vue Girls School, Bradford, I have facilitated open discussions, breaking down barriers, and fostering a more inclusive understanding of mental health and mental health courses (HE and PG)

Research advocacy

Engaging in research activities that look into health inequalities and cultural stigma associated with mental health is vital as we can generate data on understanding root causes, evaluating interventions and promoting awareness and education on the topic. For example recently we werecommissioned by a regional healthcare commissioning service to review the current mental health services, this work identified gaps that need addressing, particularly in the realm of diversity and saw a growing recognition of the necessity for more diverse services that cater to the unique needs of different cultural communities.

Advocacy and voluntary work

On a personal level, active engagement in voluntary work within the community, in part working with faith communities along with participation in civic duties, has played a pivotal role in promoting positive messages to challenge mental health inequalities and demonstrating my personal commitment to breaking down stigma alongside our work at Leeds Beckett I hope sets a powerful example for others to follow.

Conclusion

Challenging mental health stigma is an ongoing journey that requires concerted efforts on multiple fronts. From scholarship initiatives and outreach programs to research advocacy and personal engagement, the fight against stigma is multifaceted. Embracing empathy, understanding, and open discussions, alongside promoting accurate representations of mental health, will contribute to fostering inclusivity and breaking down the barriers that perpetuate mental health stigma across diverse cultures. The call to action is clear: it's time to collectively dismantle the stigma surrounding mental health and pave the way for a more compassionate and understanding society. However, real change starts with inclusive, socially conscious training programs that graduate a new generation of providers prepared to transform mental health services. We at Leeds Beckett are seen as leading on this.