http://magazine.jhsph.edu/2009/summer/f ... ds/page_2/In the arena of international mental health, AMHR is one of only a few research groups working in collaboration with service providers to bring scientifically proven, cost-effective mental health services to those most in need. Central to the AMHR model is a commitment to view mental health through a local lens. That means using ethnographic study methods to talk with local populations to understand their mental health problems from the perspective of their own culture. This is the foundation for AMHR’s subsequent scientific work of selecting and adapting interventions in ways local people will understand and accept. AHMR then collaborates with the providers to conduct scientific studies, such as controlled trials, to assess how effective the services are.
Too often, says Bass, NGOs and other service providers bypass the local perspective and simply import Western-based assessments and therapies that may not translate well to other cultures. “We need to know what the problems are, and we first spend time doing needs assessments,” she says. “We don’t go into a place and say, ‘Oh, there’s a disaster; everybody must have PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder].’ We take an exploratory approach and determine what the problems are and how they affect people’s functioning and daily lives.”
This research group's method of assessments and implementing effect, low-cost mental health services in Kurdistan is proving to be successful. Its a very interesting article, and I recommend everyone to read it as its educational as well. I think in the near future this would be something Somalia will be a good candidate for, once peace and stability is achieved inshallah. Only god knows how badly we need mental health services.
I think Somalis have inflicted on themselves as much torture and mental instability as the Kurds experienced.
