An innovative way to address mental health challenges is coming to salt of the earth Fresno, California -- a holistic wellness center. Here's a sample of my latest article for HealthyCal.org, a nonprofit, public policy reporting website.
Holistic mental wellness center coming to Fresno
By Todd R. Brown, California Health Report
To some immigrants, the details of Western medicine lie in unfamiliar territory, so certain maladies wind up being treated by traditional healers rather than modern medical practitioners.
To remedy that dichotomy between the old world and the new, Fresno County plans to open a holistic wellness center that will link Hmong, Latinos and other groups with spiritually fulfilling as well as evidence-based solutions to mental health worries.
Staffing will be contracted out, and three groups responded to the county’s request for proposals. One of them, the Fresno Center of New Americans, is a nonprofit that formed in the early ’90s to help Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese refugees adjust to life in America. Over time it has expanded to aid other immigrant groups as well as low-income residents.
One challenge with such clients is that stoic immigrants and proud blue collar workers tend to stigmatize mental health trouble as a weakness. And in some traditional cultures, including in Central America and Southeast Asia, stress may not be seen as a culprit in emotional distress.
“Hmong believe that the body is inhabited with many souls and spirits,” said psychologist Ghia Xiong with the Fresno Center for New Americans, discussing the non-Western model of mental health. “The whole goal for the body to be in good health is to have these souls in balance.”
In this world view, a traumatic incident can cause a person’s spirit to depart his body, Xiong said. The resulting imbalance, which a Westerner might diagnose as depression or neurosis, is perceived by a tradition-minded Hmong as requiring shamanic intervention.
“They may see a doctor and say, ‘I don’t feel too well, I’m feeling very irritable, and I’m having headaches,’ and the doctor gives medicine for pain,” Xiong said. “Then they might want to see a psychiatrist and talk about how they feel, what they think. But that doesn’t really solve the third issue of their spiritual health, the third component.
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Enjoy the full article on Healthycal.org.
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