6010 Dq1 respond

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LinkWatch Video – Challenges and Rewards of a culturally-informed approach to mental health | Jessica

What are the principles presented in this video for responsibly engaging in a culturally informed/responsive approach to mental healthcare? What are some challenges to engaging in a culturally informed/responsive approach to mental healthcare? How does the approach in this video relate to the concept of cultural humility?

#1) Students need to post at least one thoughtful response with references to this video

#2) Students need to post one thoughtful question. In formulating the question, it should advance the discussion of the topic that is the focus of the particular Discussion Forum and/or present ancillary, critical relevant information by Wednesday.

#3) Students will respond to at least one of their classmates questions by Wednesday. Although not required, students may continue to dialogue/interact beyond these required components. All final responses/posts are due by Sunday of each week. It is expected that students will respond to the question of a different classmate, each week.

Rache respond to the main post

This video, which discussed some of the challenges and rewards of a culturally-informed approach to mental health, provided a new perspective on individuals, culture, behavior, and treating mental illness. Some of the principles of engaging in a culturally informed approach to mental healthcare are to take a stance of informed curiosity and to ask different questions (and to ask questions differently) (TEDx Talks, 2015). Developing in-depth knowledge and awareness of cultural matters and differences in order to pose informed questions are key factors in engaging in a culturally informed approach (TEDx Talks, 2015). In some cultures, the self is autonomous and individual, while other cultures include close interpersonal connections as part of the self perspective (TEDx Talks, 2015). Some of the challenges of engaging in a culturally informed approach to mental healthcare are not knowing what questions to ask or how to ask them in a way that seeks the most helpful knowledge. Also, deviations from behavior that is considered normal would seem to vary by culture, so the attainment of cultural knowledge in order to treat mental illness would be very important. It is not a one-size-fits-all approach.

There are profound rewards which can be seen as a result of using a culturally informed approach (TEDx Talks, 2015). Engaging in a culturally informed approach to mental healthcare can contribute to improving treatment (TEDx Talks, 2015). For students who utilize a culturally informed approach in learning, they will experience greater open-mindedness, increased understanding of experiences different from one’s own and practice less stereotyping (TEDx Talks, 2015). Using this approach would seemingly help develop cultural humility. A culturally informed approach relates to cultural humility by aligning with similar values such as having an open mind in understanding other cultures as well as an interest in wanting to learn more in order to better understand others. Research demonstrates that aspects of cultural humility improve relationships between people from different backgrounds (Hall, 2017).

One question I would have is are there cultures which are outliers in terms of mental illness? Are there mental illnesses that are far more prevalent in some cultures than others?

References

Hall, Gordon C. Nagayama. (2017). Cultural Humility.  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/life-in-the-intersection/201707/cultural-humility

TEDx Talks. (2015). Challenges