In This Spotlight:

Mental health is essential to everyone’s well-being.

However, attitudes around it andmental health stigmavaries from country to country.

In addition, they will have their own distinct, culturally-specific strategies to address these.

This article will explore what mental health care looks like in various countries across the globe.

As stated above,different cultures have different practicesthat influence their approach to mental health care.

Some of these practices may be beneficial, while others may be harmful or ineffective, saysDr.

Ketan Parmar, a forensic psychiatrist based in India.

Since this time, significant progress has been made, though challenges to its efficacy still remain.

Faith healers and religious leaders are also preferred sources of support for mental health concerns in India.

This is particularly common in rural areas and tier II cities.

That said, mental health practitioners are sensitized about the importance of faith healers and spiritual and religious beliefs.

Many people are not familiar with the causes, treatments, and prevention of mental illness.

And 54.2% dropped out of care due to a low perception of need.

As a result, there is a significant proportion of the population affected by trauma.

Alcohol misuse and illicit drug use also contribute to a burden on these services.

In this country, a community model of care is utilized for those with mental health problems.

Thus, both the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown were marked by an increase in depression and anxiety.

Thus, the dominant values in this society involve caring for others and maintaining a good quality of life.

That being said, while it is frequently commended, there are some barriers to care.

For instance, the prevalence of mental illness in the country is not well-researched or documented.

Mexico

Access to mental healthcare in Mexico is an issue, leading to a significant treatment gap.

However, with these, he advocates for caution.

After all, many of these practices are considered pseudosciences within evidence-based psychology.

As a result, the use of online platforms has become a non-traditional strategy of its own.

Thus, it tends to be for a therapy modality they cant access in their country.

However, even within seeking help from abroad, there are still prevalent issues.

For example, country-dependent licensing restrictions and language barriers, which hinder in-depth therapeutic engagement.

As Dr. Parmar states, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for mental health care… Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation GBD compare data visualization.Global comparison.

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