Rawat, M;
Jadhav, S;
Bayetti, C;
Mathias, K;
(2021)
A qualitative study to explore various meanings of mental distress and help-seeking in the Yamuna valley, North India.
Indian journal of Social Psychiatry
, 37
(4)
pp. 394-406.
10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_63_21.
Preview |
Text
Jadhav_IndianJSocPsychiatry_2021_37_4_394_331128.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Context: In rural India, mental healthcare remains limited due to scant state services and incongruency between provider- and patient-framing distress. Help-seeking by people with mental health problems is related to how meanings of distress are understood differently by individuals, based on their interaction with various actors in the community and the available cultural explanation within their local ecologies. Methodology: This study examines the mutually constituted relationship between meanings of mental distress and help-seeking among people residing in the Upper Yamuna Valley, Uttarakhand, North India. This qualitative study builds on six in-depth interviews with people with severe mental health issues and one person with epilepsy, referred as people with psychosocial disability (PPSD) in the study. The data analysis was iterative and followed thematic approach. Results: The study found that personal belief based on one's experience, such as negative self-judgment and wider cultural explanations, such as supernatural beliefs, as well as gender roles, impacted the way people address their mental health problems, in turn shaping their help-seeking behavior. Participants lost hope for a cure after years of trying to find an effective solution. Moreover, lack of access to care and remoteness of the mountainous area made help-seeking and recovery feel impossible. Conclusions: This study underscores the need for researchers and policy professionals to explore the local context and culture to improve care and treatment quality. The study also explains that personal explanation of psychosocial problems and help seeking are not unidirectional. It is a complex phenomenon layered with the local contexts which should be addressed in clinical practice, as well as future research. Finally, clinicians' training should address the local cultural language of distress to identify the problem and suggest an effective solution.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A qualitative study to explore various meanings of mental distress and help-seeking in the Yamuna valley, North India |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.4103/ijsp.ijsp_63_21 |
| Publisher version: | https://www.indjsp.org/article.asp?issn=0971-9962;... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non‑commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. |
| Keywords: | Help-seeking, India, mental distress, rural, traditional healer |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139130 |
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
