| Seeking professional psychological help for one's difficulties might be something that individuals from specific cultures do readily. However, to those in other specific cultures, seeking help outside the family is avoided at all cost, and is considered taboo. The Chinese culture is one such group that tends to eschew psychotherapy. The goal of this dissertation was to develop a culturally--appropriate videotape about psychotherapy that could be used with Chinese American clients to both teach about and destigmatize psychotherapy. The first step was to investigate cultural factors that influence Chinese American clients' help--seeking behaviors by conducting interviews with eight mental health professionals working in community mental health settings. From these interviews I identified seven main themes that affect Chinese American clients' decision whether to seek mental health services: (a) Chinese philosophy and teachings; (b) impact of loss of face, shame, and somatization on help-seeking behaviors; (c) negative connotations associated with translated words in Chinese American client's native language; (d) mental health as a foreign concept; (e) the mismatch of needs between potential consumers of mental health services and service providers; (f) different motivational factors in seeking mental health services; and (g) obstacles to seeking mental health services. Using the seven main themes as a guideline, I then created a psycho-educational video in attempts to inform Chinese American clients unfamiliar with therapy, and hopefully destigmatize psychotherapy. The ultimate goal is to increase early help--seeking behaviors, and decrease premature termination among Chinese American clients. |
