Black History Month: Why mental health treatments need to be culturally appropriate
Black History Month is a time to reflect on the racism and discrimination experienced by many Black and other racialised people. Despite decades of research, it is unfortunately still the case that being Black is linked to poorer outcomes of psychosis care.
Earlier this month, ITV News shone a light on this issue, telling the stories of two Black women who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Both women felt that being Black was part of the reason that they hadn’t been offered some evidence-based treatments including talking treatments.
The women have been involved in developing and testing a new psychological therapy called Culturally Adapted Family Interventions (CaFI), run by the University of Manchester, and led by Professor Dawn Edge, Head of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Research Unit at GMMH. The intervention was co-created with people from African and Caribbean backgrounds diagnosed with schizophrenia or psychosis. Crucially, CaFI therapy involves training therapists to work cross-culturally, to better understand the lived experience of their patients, and how dealing with race and racism may have affected their mental health.
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Dawn Edge said: “When treating someone with mental health difficulties, it’s really important to have a frame of reference and understand the cultural background and nuances of service users’ lives and experiences. Many people from African and Caribbean backgrounds have been subject to racism. |
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"We know that this can trigger and worsen mental health difficulties, but racism is rarely factored into the care and treatment that Black and other racialised groups receive. We also know that access to mental health services and treatments is not equal – Black people are more frequently ‘sectioned’ under the Mental Health Act than other groups and more likely to be prescribed medication than offered psychological therapy. "So, it’s important to move away from offering one-size-fits-all psychological therapy – people from different backgrounds need different culturally appropriate support. This is what we’re working to achieve with CaFI.” |
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To watch the ITV News piece, please visit: Black people four times more likely to be sectioned over talking therapy for mental health | ITV News Granada
For more information about the CaFI study, please contact cafitm@gmmh.nhs.uk.
