Introduction
Arabs, particularly from Middle East and North Africa have unique psychological challenges that are associated with the back rash that has been brought about by terrorism. In addition to the increased misconception of their religion being associated with the vice, they also face cultural challenges that dictate how they are supposed to live. There are numerous studies that have been carried out among the Arab women on the subject of their mental health. This paper will address the epidemiology of their condition, focusing on the special group on the immigrants, while comparing them with their counterparts at home and as well those residing in America.
Factors contributing to the Increase in Prevalence
In many cultures especially in the Western world, the stigma of mental illness and different treatment is a reality. In many cases, the patients mistrust the mental health system of the western nations and thus they end up living with their illness without seeking any form of intervention. This is a wide spread issue and affect numerous families. There is wide spread cultural mistrust among the patients owing to the cultural differences and stigmatization.
As at 2010, there were more than 7 million Muslims living in the United States. Most of these Muslims are children of immigrants who moved to the United States for various reasons. Just like any other minority group in the western world, they face the problems ranging from discrimination, racism, and marginalization among others. In addition, they face challenges emanating from their backgrounds, social economic status, and fluency in foreign language, trauma, and length of the time that they have been in the foreign country. The ability to balance between ethnic identities, religious identity, and the foreign culture can pose a huge challenge especially to a person who was used to a conservative life style guided by cultural teachings and religion (Abu-Ras).
Discrimination
A study that was conducted in 2007 revealed that as many as 63% of the sample had faced a form of discrimination in their daily routine. There were rampant cases of Islamophobia, racism that is based on their religious attires and their religious practices. In some cases, the women have been denied employment opportunities or being wrongfully terminated. These are daily challenges that can put one into depression. In addition, some of the people express their frustrations through substance abuse. This may lead to additional depression issues not only to them, but as well to the immediate families. Most of the immigrants moved to the foreign countries seeking asylum either for political reasons or due to religious issues. Therefore, they were escaping some form of traumas and needs trauma counseling before they could settle.
Stigmatization
In many cultures around the world, there is an element of stigma that affects those suffering from mental illness. The stigma is not only manifested in the patients, but also in the families of the victim. In addition, there lack adequate medical personnel to treat the condition. Thus, people in the minority communities may end up failing to seek for the medic either due to lack of access or for fear of stigmatization. There are cultural mistrusts between the Muslim and the hosting residents thus creating a barrier that makes it hard for the mental health intervention to be effective. Also, there patients have other baggage such as human right abuses, gender roles and the position of women in the society. In some cases, they are required to seek for permission from their spouses in order for them to seek intervention. A combination of these cultural backgrounds and practices makes the patient more vulnerable and prevent them from seeking for the intervention. This has further escalated the problem and has increased number of people suffering from the condition. These are some of the factors that have that have contributed to the increased prevalence of the condition among the Muslim immigrants.
Intervention Programs
In for the practitioners to be able to intervene there are several tactics that might be employed. They include mental health education, family and individual intervention, cultural empowerment, cultural awareness among the practitioners, addressing the issues of social injustices and inequality. In most developing nations, the mental health is only reserved for the severe cases and often leads to institutionalization. It is paramount for the caregivers to give the patients a step by step guide on what is expected and the possible outcomes. This will convince them to take up the services and use a psychotherapist more often. Mental health must be addressed from a cultural point of view. There is need for the counselors to gain a clear insight about the patient so that they can have a breakthrough with them. There are several cultural aspects that are paramount for a therapy to be successful. An example is that, most families’ value secrecy on the personal information and they would do anything to ensure that they maintain that secrecy. However, for the therapy to work there is need for them to open up. This calls for a family dialogue that will explain to the families the doctor patient confidence and other paradigms in the mental health care. Other barriers such as gender roles can only be addressed family intervention and this will ensure that there is a breakthrough in the therapy.
Other Intervention Programs
Cultural empowerment is another important aspect that ought to be considered in order for the mental health intervention to be effective. These include matters such as the ability to access education and employment. This will help to bridge the mental health barriers. In addition, the traditional cultures should be integrated into the western healing programs. This includes engaging a local healer or a religious leader in order to ensure that that the therapy is customized to the desires of the parties involved. In this stage the therapist assist the patient to be an advocate of her rights and decide on het they want and what they do not want. This is done through encouraging the patient to join community groups and advocate for the right of the Muslim women (Reitmanova & Gustafson).
Comparing to Women in Homeland
In the places that are war stricken, women and children suffers most as they are left with the burden of taking care of each other while men join in the fights. This creates a psychological burden that needs to be evaluated. The process of moving from one place to another is stressing and thus making the immigrants more affected than the ones left home. An Arab woman in America undergoes trauma and stress in adjusting to the new life and in dealing with their traumas. This makes them more vulnerable as compares to the ones left at home as they only have to adjust for the lost members and not in moving.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the women Arab immigrants are faced with many challenges. They carry a mental burden and in need of mental health intervention. The mental health issues are aggravated by their social cultural issues and thus making them to have more issues than those left at the homeland. There is need for an all-inclusive, cultural sensitive and well-structured mental health care program.
Works Cited
Abu-Ras, W. M., and Suarez, Z. E. (2009). Muslim men and women’s perception of discrimination, hate crimes, and PTSD symptoms post 9/11. Traumatology, 15, 48- 63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1534765609342281
Reitmanova, S., & Gustafson, D. L. (2008). ‘‘They can’t understand it’’: Maternity health and care needs of immigrant Muslim women in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 12, 101-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10995-007-0213-4
