Breaking the chains: ethnographic film-making in mental health

A few years ago I took a break from my position as a researcher at the Global and Cultural Mental Health Unit at the University of Melbourne to pursue further studies in visual anthropology. I wanted to develop my skills in using photography and film—two tools I am passionate about—as research instruments in my fields of interest, cultural psychiatry and global mental health. Harry Minas, the Unit director, had collaborated for several years with the Indonesian Ministry of Health; thanks to this support I was, albeit with a few hurdles, given access to research (by means of ethnographic film-documentary) an issue I felt strongly about: the violations of human rights of people with mental illness

Arts-Based Research in Cultural Mental Health

Arts can be employed as a powerful tool to elicit thinking and discussion (thus generating and gathering data), as well as a means to report and disseminate findings. The arts have been used for decades in research and practice and they are increasingly being used, also because of a counter-movement to the dominance of positivist epistemologies. However, health sciences continue to be reticent toward embracing the application of art in research. This has resulted in limited art use even in disciplines such as Psychiatry and Psychology, which could arguably benefit most from such practices

People of immigrant and refugee background sharing experiences of mental health recovery: reflections and recommendations on using digital storytelling

Ten individuals of immigrant or refugee background, who had experi- enced mental health or emotional issues, participated in an immersive workshop to create digital stories as part of a national multicultural men- tal health initiative. Known collectively as ‘Finding our way’, the stories combine the power of first-person narrative with digital technologies. Three years on, six workshop participants and two coordinators reflect on the project’s effects, and offer recommendations for conducting and evaluating similar projects in the future. Individuals experienced the proj- ect as personally empowering. The stories have been used to facilitate community and service-based conversations about diversity, mental health and recovery

Forgiveness in PTSD after man-made traumatic events: a systematic review

Forgiveness has proven to be beneficial for the physical and mental health of individuals. In sufferers of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after man-made traumatic events, it is often believed to have a positive effect to forgive the transgressor. This systematic review identifies and presents a summary ofthe literature into the association of symptoms of PTSD with forgiveness after man-made traumatic events. The bibliography databases EMBASE, PubMed/Medline, PsycInfo, PsycExtra, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The review shows significant differences between individual studies regarding the type of trauma, the setting, the forgiveness concept, and the measurement instruments used for PTSD and forgiveness. Only 1 study could not establish a significant correlation between forgiveness and PTSD symptoms. The other studies found that higher forgiveness levels were associated with lower PTSD-related symptoms scores, but other factors have to be taken into account, as demographic variables, the relationship between transgressor and survivor of trauma, the type and severity of trauma, and other variables were also shown to be relevant

Attitudes Towards Youth Suicide: A Comparison Between Italian, Indian and Australian Students

There is a paucity of cross-cultural research on youth suicidal behaviour. An understanding of the cultural aspects of suicidal behaviour is essential for the development of culturally appropriate suicide prevention and intervention strategies. In this study, meanings, cultural representations, attitudes, values and beliefs regarding youth suicide were explored in 700 young Italians, Indians and Australians. Participants were University students (18-24 years old) from Italy, India and Australia. Participants had to be at least second generation, i.e. both they and their parents were born in the countries included in the study. Data collection was through completion of a questionnaire with structured and semi-structured questions (e.g. case vignettes, word associations, attitude scale, open-ended questions) and focus groups. In this proceedings, findings about the attitudes towards suicide focusing on the differences/similarities by country, gender, spiritual beliefs and suicide risk will be presented and the implications of the findings for suicide risk assessment and treatment will be discussed

Spirituality and wellbeing in the context of a study on suicide prevention in North India

The connection between spirituality and wellbeing, including its benefits for physical and mental health, has been recognized in the Eastern cultures for a very long time, although the sharp division between science and religion has caused, for the most part, its neglect inWestern cultures until recently. Nevertheless, limited efforts have been made to explore the impact of spirituality and religion on wellbeing, including the prevention of suicide. We begin with an overview of the literature on religiousness, spirituality, and health and wellbeing. Further, we present a novel study focused on a sample of 160 Indian students from a spiritually oriented university in North India with the aim to understand how spirituality affects their lives and wellbeing and their views about suicide. Our results show that spirituality, generally, has a positive impact on participants’ wellbeing with a potential protective effect against suicidal behavior, although more research on spiritual/religious beliefs as a source of difficulties is warranted

Recovering from mental illness and suicidal behaviour in a culturally diverse context: the use of digital storytelling in cross-cultural medical humanities and mental health

en people of immigrant and refugee background, with a lived experience of mental health or emotional issues, participated in a four-day digital storytelling workshop, to create a story that expressed something about their personal encounters with mental ill-health and recovery. As many other DST projects have done before, this project used the power of first-person narratives and provided an opportunity for ‘unheard voices to be heard’.The storytellers were supported to create their own accounts, share their experiences (in mainstream media, in policy and service settings, and for practitioner education), grow in self-confidence, and develop other capabilities.This chapter describes the DST process and discusses its impact from the perspective of the two project coordinators in consultation with six participants, five as storytellers and one support person. It also provides the perspective of a Mandarin-speaking participant in depth. The digital stories can be freely viewed at www.vtmh.org.au

Traditional healers' and biomedical practitioners' perceptions of collaborative mental healthcare in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Access to mental healthcare in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is one of the greatest challenges in public health today. One suggestion for improving accessibility is through collaboration between biomedical practitioners and traditional healers. This paper reviews studies of traditional healers’ and biomedical practitioners’ perceptions of collaboration. We conducted a systematic review of online databases, selected journals, and reference lists for relevant studies. Eligible papers were assessed using a tool designed for this review for quality and study characteristics, and qualitative data demonstrating participants’ views were extracted. A total of 14 papers from seven countries were included. The published literature on this topic is relatively homogenous and studies are of variable quality. The findings suggest that, despite differing conceptualisations of mental illness causation, both traditional healers and biomedical practitioners recognise that patients can benefit from a combination of both practices and demonstrate a clear willingness to work together. There are concerns about patients’ safety and human rights regarding traditional methods and some healers are sceptical about the effectiveness of Western psychiatric medication. Despite keeping the inclusion criteria open to all LMICs, all 13 studies were conducted in Africa, seven of which were in South Africa. This limits the applicability of the findings of this review to the wider LMIC context. The paper concludes with recommendations for research and practice