Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Jennifer Boss, MSW
• Early Head Start National Resource Center _at_ ZERO
  TO THREE
• jboss_at_zerotothree.org

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• What is Culture?
• Cultural Differences in Respect to Mental Health
• What is Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health?
• What Does Culture Have to do With it?
• How Can EHS/HS Programs Address Culture and
  Mental Health?

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health
Reflection A parent asks the EHS teacher to
wear a sling so that her 3-month-old is held most
of the day.
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health
What is culture?
the set of values, beliefs and assumptions that
families share and pass down to children and
grandchildren. (Christensen, Emde, Flemming,
2004)
a common heritage or set of beliefs, norms and
values (DHHS, 1999)
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Values things a culture considers important
  (e.g. traits, routines, rituals, behaviors)
• Beliefs ideas people accept as true often
  difficult to change.
• Assumptions ideas people form based on previous
  experiences easier to change

Christensen, M., Emde, R., Fleming, C in Day,
M., Parlakian, R. (2003)
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health
Reflection A parent asks the EHS teacher to
wear a sling so that her 3-month-old is held most
of the day.
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Mental Health A Report of the Surgeon General
  (DHHS, 1999)
• Mental Health Culture, Race and Ethnicity A
  Supplement to Mental Health A Report of the
  Surgeon General (DHHS, 2001)

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Cultural differences in how individuals describe
  and understand symptoms of mental illness

Department of Health and Human Services, 2001
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Cultural differences in how individuals cope with
  mental health challenges

Department of Health and Human Services, 2001
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Cultural differences in how individuals trust the
  mental health system

Department of Health and Human Services, 2001
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Cultural differences in how individuals perceive
  or dont perceive stigma associated with mental
  health

the most formidable obstacle to future progress
in the arena of mental illness and health (DHHS,
1999)
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health
Examples of Mainstream US Cultural Beliefs
About Children

• Independence
• Self-reliance
• Individual initiative
• Equal opportunity
• Freedom of expression

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• Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

Infant Early Childhood Mental Health is

• The developing capacity to
• experience, regulate express emotions
• form close secure interpersonal relationships
  and
• explore the environment learn
• all in the context of family, community, and
  cultural expectations for young children
• ZERO TO THREE, 2001

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health
Head Start Performance Standards on Culture

• Support/respect for gender, culture, home
  language, ethnicity and family composition
• Understanding of family, culture, language
• Culture/ethnic preferences

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Head Start Performance Standards for Mental
  Health Services
• working collaboratively with parents
• securing the services of mental health
  professionals
• developing a regular schedule of on-site mental
  health consultations
• involving mental health professionals, program
  staff, and parent

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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• Respecting Home Culture and Developing Cultural
  Reciprocity
• Self awareness
• Explore others beliefs
• Discuss culturally based differences
• Negotiate solutions that are mutually
  satisfactory

Day, M., Parlakian, R., (2003)
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health
How we are is as important as what we do Jeree
Pawl
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Cultural Issues Impacting Mental Health

• The great law of culture is to let each become
  all that he was created capable of being

Thomas Carlyle