Diversity - BME Men and Boys and Mental Wellbeing
Quick links:
This area of the resource pack aims to provide an overview of the issues in relation to BME men and boys mental wellbeing. It has been designed to support health professionals to develop approaches that are sensitive to the specific concerns and needs of these communities. The quote below from Robert T. Carter (1995) The Influence of Race and Racial Identity in Psychotherapy. London: Wiley, provides a useful starting place for this section of the resource pack:
“One might argue that, in part, race has become less salient because mental health clinicians, scholars, and researchers are more comfortable examining presumed cultural and ethnic issues. Many writers seem to suggest that race is included within analyses and explanations of culture and ethnicity. I contend that race is not understood when culture and ethnicity are assumed to encompass racial issues. When race is subsumed in ethnic and cultural phenomena, our history….our current socio-political climate, and the operations of our institutions are ignored. Emphasis on ethnicity and culture, particularly when it is grounded in broad definitions of culture, obscures how central race is…in the delivery of mental health services, and in psychotherapeutic encounters.”
Resources for health professionals
Implicit Association Tests (IATs)
IATs are specially designed to be very accessible to anybody and help to clarify the various implicit associations people bring to a range of social situations. They are like computer games, are interactive and user friendly. The academic information available via the sites comes as an optional extra.
Please try IATs yourself, by simply going to the link below for Harvard University’s range of IAT’s or by doing a search via the internet, that will bring up a broad range of alternatives:
www.implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
It is well known that people don't always 'speak their minds', and it is suspected that people don't always 'know their minds'. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology.
This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with previous methods. This new method is called the implicit Association Test, or IAT for short.
Count Me In: National Mental Health & Ethnicity Census 2005 (pdf)
The first census of the ethnicity of people in England and Wales using inpatient mental health services has shown that Black African and Caribbean people are more likely to go into hospital than the general population.
Turning the Tide (ppt)
A Powerpoint presentation referring to BME communities and in particular African Caribbean mental health experiences in the UK. This has been provided by Peter Blackman from the Afiya Trust. Text supporting the presentation is available below:
Turning the Tide text (doc)
Healing minds without magic (doc)
‘Healing minds without magic’ is a regional health & cultural awareness-raising project for the benefit of vulnerable and isolated Asian men & women. Health & cultural awareness is equally important for the public / patients as it is for health service providers such as PCTs, Mental Health Trusts & NHS Acute Trusts.
Fachsheets from the MIND website:
- The African Caribbean community and mental health in Britain
- Mental health of Chinese and Vietnamese people in Britain
- Mental health of Irish-born people in Britain
- The mental health of the South Asian community in Britain
This is a very serious and helpful website in regards to race-cultural psychology. This African American website contains a wealth of information. In simple and accessible language, it covers the work of three academic generations producing tools for both black and white people to find a way forward. As well as practice and training, it includes references to research and theory.
BMESpark is a website providing information, research and knowledge sharing forums for professionals involved in the provision and commissioning of services for BME communities. It is an initiative provided by Supporting People and produced by Lemos&Crane.
Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity
Organisation dedicated to improving the quality of life of black and Ethnic Minority Elders in the UK and in Europe
Translated Mental Health Resources
Mental health in translation from the Mind website:
- Introduction
- Index by language
- Index by subject matter
- Resource listing by language
- Resource listing by subject matter
- Organisations providing mental health information in translation
Alzheimer's disease resources in a range of languages
you can find information about Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in a broad range of following languages, by clicking on the link above.
The Multikulti website aims to support citizenship through the delivery of culturally appropriate and accurately translated information in the following areas of welfare law - debt, employment, health, housing, immigration and welfare benefits. The How to improve your mental wellbeing and Understanding Depression leaflets are also available in the languages below. This website applie mainly to England, but may have resources which are universally useful.
Resources are offered at this website in the following languages:
- Shqip (Albanian)
- Arabic
- Bengali
- Chinese
- English
- Farsi
- Français
- Gujarati
- Soomali
- Español
- Português
- Türkçe
- Urdu
The Refugee Council is the largest independent organisation in the UK providing assistance to asylum seekers and refugees. Advice and information for asylum seekers and refugees in various languages.
Destigmatize offers a whole range of multi-lingual factsheets giving information and advice for sufferers of anxiety disorders in the South Asian Community. These can be purchased through our helpline by calling 08701264872 or emailing amo@destigmatize.org.uk
The factsheets available cover
- A Quick Guide to all anxiety disorders in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi
- Social Phobia factsheet in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder Factsheet in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Factsheet in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi
- Anxiety Treatments Factsheet in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi
- Panic Disorder Factsheet in English, Punjabi, Urdu and Hindi
They also have a whole range of other information and training/consultancy services available so please call the helpline to discuss requirements
CULTURALLY SENSITIVE SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE WITH ARAB CLIENTS IN MENTAL HEALTH SETTINGS.
Several culturally specific practical considerations should inform social work interventions with ethnic Arab peoples in Arab countries or in Western ...
A Cross-National and Cross-Sectional Comparison of Men's Gender Role Conflict and its Relationship to Social Intimacy and Self-Esteem
We hypothesized that men's nationality and age group would affect (a) their level of gender role conflict and (b) the strength of the relationship between ...
Standing in the Shadows: Understanding and Overcoming Depression in Black Men
Veteran journalist and award-winning author John Head provides his readers with an insightful look into Black men and depression with his new book STANDING ...
Black men moving on
Better Must Come: Black men moving on, features the inspiring stories of seven black men overcoming stigma, discrimination and the myth that people with ...
A comparison of mental health among minority ethnic elders and whites in East and North London
Objective: minority ethnic groups, particularly elderly people, reported substantially more limiting long-term illness than the white population in the ...
Mental Health Benefits of Arts and Creativity For Young African and Caribbean Men, The
'Creativity is a valuable way of expressing your emotions and it can aid recovery. It can also help others understand the issues surrounding mental health.' ...
Older men, minorities report lower rates of treatment for depression - noteworthy news
LOS ANGELES Older men, African Americans and Latinos with clinical depression reported significantly lower rates of treatment than other participants ...
Black Men And Divorce: Implications For Culturally Competent Practice
Divorce takes a particularly heavy toll on black men, resulting in mental health problems that commonly present as physiological symptoms Introduction ...
Somali Conceptions and Expectations Concerning Mental Health: Some guidelines for mental health professionals
The Somali population in New Zealand is a rapidly growing one that should be of interest to mental health professionals due to their experience of resettlement ...
Keeping secrets: why Black men are still reluctant to seek therapy
US racism causes such stress that Black American are often driven to the brink of mental illness. But African American men have been slow to use the services ...
Men in Mind
Men In Mind is a mental health project for black and minority ethnic men based in Edinburgh. The project aims to develop mental health support services, and to raise awareness of mental health issues amongst black and minority ethnic men through a programme of events and activities:
One to One Support
Open Drop-In
Educational Programmes
Men In Mind Forum
health in mind's Information and Resource Centre includes a specialist section on the mental health needs of black and minority ethnic men.
For further information please contact Sylvain, Akin or Jonathan at:
Men In Mind
40 Shandwick Place
Edinburgh EH2 4RT
Tel: 0131 225 8508
Fax: 0131 220 0028
Email: mim@health-in-mind.org.uk
Mind
Black Information Link
The 1990 Trust's independent community interactive website for black communities.
Black Orchid
First Floor, 189c Newfoundland Road, Bristol BS2 9NY
tel. 0117 907 9982
email: black@orchid189c.fsnet.co.uk
Support, advice and advocacy for black and Asian mental health service users, with a holistic approach to mental health issues.
Campaign against Racism and Fascism
http://www.carf.demon.co.uk/index.html
The CARF group is not aligned to any political party or tendency. It is composed of individuals from many walks of life: designers, lawyers, journalists, students, race relations workers all of whom share a commitment to fighting racism.
Chinese Mental Health Association
Oxford House, Derbyshire Street
London E26HG
email: info@cmha.org.uk
Chinese mental health promotion, bi-lingual counselling, mental health assessment, befriending, group and daytime activities for Chinese mental health service users and their carers.
Chinese National Healthy Living Centre
29-30 Soho Square
London W1D 3QS
tel: 020 7534 6546 or 020 7287 0904
fax: 020 7534 6545
email: general@cnhlc.org.uk
web:www.cnhlc.org.uk
Information service, health promotion, preventive care and primary care for Chinese people.
Diverse Minds
Mind’s Black and Minority Ethnic Unit
15-19 Broadway, Stratford, London E15 4BQ
tel. 0208 215 2218
Working to ensure that mental health services are responsive to the needs of people from Black and minority ethnic communities.
Vietnamese Mental Health Services
Units 21-23
49 Effra Road
Brixton
London SW2 1BZ
tel: 020 7733 7646
fax: 020 7274 1378
email: vietnamesemhs@cix.co.uk
Aims to increase access and appropriate health and social care for all Vietnamese people.