Cultural bridge to mental health
In Australian culture mental illness is just that - an illness - which can be treated.
But in other cultures mental illness can be perceived quite differently, such as the result of an external event or as a curse or payment for sin where only a religious elder can provide the solution. When these cultural beliefs are held it is very difficult for a person with a mental illness to receive the treatment they need.
This is where the Queensland Transcultural Mental Health Centre staff can step in as cultural interpreters who are able to build bridges between different cultures and the mental health system.
Manager Rita Prasad-Ildes says it is essential to work closely with families so they understand the mental health system and can become involved with the treatment team. “We have 150 bilingual clinicians and cultural consultants from 80 language groups and, in 12 major hospitals around the state, multicultural mental health coordinators,” Rita says.
The centre also provides video conferencing for individuals and clinicians from regional and remote areas to talk with cultural consultants. “Often when people are distressed or unwell they become less fluent in English,” Rita says. “Access to interpreters and people from their own cultural background is a vital link. They can explain to clinicians what is happening to them so that clinicians can take cultural factors into consideration during assessment and treatment.”
As a member of the Multicultural Mental Health Consumer and Carer Network, Maria Teresa Montenegro-Vega knows, from her experience as a refugee with a mental illness, about the need for cultural understanding. “The stigma of mental illness is as harmful and painful as the illness,” Maria says. “Families don’t want the community to find out, especially in close-knit regional communities. We need to make them aware their privacy is assured in the system so they will seek help for mental illness.”
For information (07) 3167 8333 or 1800 188 189.