psychotherapy

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1. How do various minority groups differ in terms of their views of mental illness and psychotherapy? Explain in at least 200 words

Although limited, the literature suggests that African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to believe that people with mental illnesses are dangerous. However, the negative perception held by African Americans did not necessarily result in endorsement of harsher treatment of mentally ill persons (Deidre, Anglin, Link & Phelan, 2006, http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/57/6/857). These stigmatizing views may deter African Americans from seeking help for their mental illness.

Research also suggests that Black Americans, in contrast to White Americans, differ in their views of mental illness and psychotherapy as related to the cause (etiology) and length of therapy. For example, Millet, Sullivan, Schwebel & Myers (1996) found that Black Americans tend to terminate treatment earlier than White Americans. The authors tested the hypothesis "that the racial differences was because members of the two groups hold different views about mental health problems and their treatment. They had participants read and respond to questions about vignettes describing individuals encountering personal difficulties that ranged from adjustment challenges to severe psychiatric illness. One major difference that might lead to early termination is that Black American respondents rated spiritual factors (which traditional psychotherapy often does not deal with) more important in the etiology and treatment of the difficulties than did Whites" (http://www.springerlink.com/content/p0u1xl53636w3956/).

On average, Asians had more negative views of ...