Informal Mental Health Support in the Asian American Community and Culturally Appropriate Strategies for Community-Based Mental Health Organizations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-15-2017

Abstract

Much of the literature on culturally appropriate services is focused on barriers to service provision; less is known about how organizations can reduce these barriers. Through qualitative interviews, this study examined how informal helpers within the Asian American community are helping individuals with unmet mental health needs and how mainstream mental health organizations might learn from their experiences. Themes identified include (a) informal assistance, (b) working with the community, (c) gaining trust, and (d) cultural and language appropriateness. By implementing some of the strategies suggested in this paper, mainstream organizations can better serve the mental health needs of Asian Americans.

Publication Title

Human Service Organizations Management, Leadership and Governance

Volume

41

Issue

2

First Page

119

Last Page

132

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1080/23303131.2016.1218810

ISSN

23303131

E-ISSN

2330314X

Share

COinS