ABSTRACT
Filipinos are often reluctant to seek professional mental health (MH) help. However, literature reveals that online counselling is preferable to face‐to‐face (F2F) MH services, with the pandemic possibly magnifying technology's anonymity and disinhibiting benefits. To further explore facilitators of online MH help‐seeking, this study tapped into the lived stories of Filipino adults who experienced at least one counselling session from March 2020 to March 2022. Among 83 screened respondents, 11 semistructured interviews were transcribed and analysed following Crossley's (2000) method. Findings reveal an overarching online MH counselling narrative composed of three phases and their respective events: (a) Precounselling (Resiliency Narrative versus MH Awareness, Turning Point, and Linking versus Searching);(b) Counselling (Two‐way Introduction, Unloading and Untangling, and Decision to Maintain or Terminate);and (c) Postcounselling (Relapse and Journey towards Growth and Advocacy). Three all‐encompassing facilitators were embedded throughout the process: Autonomy, Financial Capability, and MH Institutions. Notably, participants attributed their MH help‐seeking to autonomy, despite culture and stigma, because of enabling environments that entail heightened MH literacy, positive past experiences with professional MH help, social support and encouragement, and a sense of shared reality. Benefits unique to online counselling were also apparent among participants' narratives, including alleviating geographical boundaries and added financial and personal pressures. Overall, findings posit that Filipino adults consider online counselling as a preferable alternative to F2F counselling, thus necessitating further development and institutional support. [ FROM AUTHOR]
ABSTRACT
Filipinos are often reluctant to seek professional mental health (MH) help. However, literature reveals that online counselling is preferable to face-to-face (F2F) MH services, with the pandemic possibly magnifying technology's anonymity and disinhibiting benefits. To further explore facilitators of online MH help-seeking, this study tapped into the lived stories of Filipino adults who experienced at least one counselling session from March 2020 to March 2022. Among 83 screened respondents, 11 semistructured interviews were transcribed and analysed following Crossley's (2000) method. Findings reveal an overarching online MH counselling narrative composed of three phases and their respective events: (a) Precounselling (Resiliency Narrative versus MH Awareness, Turning Point, and Linking versus Searching);(b) Counselling (Twoway Introduction, Unloading and Untangling, and Decision to Maintain or Terminate);and (c) Postcounselling (Relapse and Journey towards Growth and Advocacy). Three all-encompassing facilitators were embedded throughout the process: Autonomy, Financial Capability, and MH Institutions. Notably, participants attributed their MH help-seeking to autonomy, despite culture and stigma, because of enabling environments that entail heightened MH literacy, positive past experiences with professional MH help, social support and encouragement, and a sense of shared reality. Benefits unique to online counselling were also apparent among participants' narratives, including alleviating geographical boundaries and added financial and personal pressures. Overall, findings posit that Filipino adults consider online counselling as a preferable alternative to F2F counselling, thus necessitating further development and institutional support.
ABSTRACT
While young Saudi adults are reportedly prone to experiencing a variety of mental health problems, they tend to delay seeking mental health support. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators of seeking mental health support among young adults in Saudi Arabia. A qualitative research design was implemented using semi-structured interviews with 12 young adult participants in Saudi Arabia, recruited through social media platforms, and the interviews were then analyzed using thematic analysis. Two major themes emerged: barriers that impede the process of mental health help-seeking and facilitators that assist individuals in seeking mental health support. The barriers included public stigma and lack of awareness, unprofessional mental health practitioners, lack of accessibility to services and information, unsupportive families, intrapersonal dilemmas, and misconceptions based on religious beliefs. Facilitators of help-seeking included increasing societal and family awareness, promoting the accessibility of services, enhancing sources of external support, personal motivation to change, and online therapy. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of promoting mental health literacy among the Saudi public, particularly with regard to young adults and their unique mental health needs. Exploring facilitators and barriers may also assist mental health providers in developing tailored mental health campaigns and interventions directed at young adults.