Title:
|
Experiences of receiving cognitive behavioural therapy in the Bangladeshi community : a qualitative exploration of clients' accounts
|
This thesis was undertaken to consider Bangladeshi peoples 'subjective'
experience of receiving CBT for emotional difficulties. CBT is proposed as an
effective treatment for common mental health difficulties. However, there
appeared to be little systematic research on how people of a non-Western
background experience this kind of therapy. Therefore, the aims of this
research were to look in-depth at how people of Bangladeshi background
experience such therapy. This was particularly important, in light of current
debates taking place following Lord Layard's speech for CBT to be readily
available to the unemployed, which implicitly include the Bangladeshi
population as there are high unemployment rates in the community. This
qualitative study adopted Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to
explore Bangladeshi people's accounts, paying attention to their
understanding of why they were being referred and what they found to be
helpful and unhelpful about receiving CBT. Eight participants were involved in
this study.
The themes identified by the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
included, causes of problems, there appeared to be differences in the way in
which Bangladeshi participants understood their problem (externally located)
and the way therapists explained their problems as being located within them
(internally). Perceptions of therapy was another theme identified by the IPA,
this included participants experience of doctors as experts and decision
makers. Participants' were unfamiliar with the concept of one-to-one therapy.
CBT was seen as a resource, providing some skills in management.
However, interestingly the non-specific therapeutic factors such as sense of
therapist as interested and valuing sameness linguistic ease were more
salient for participants than CBT specific factors. The negative aspects of the
wider mental health care system included psychotherapy being offered as a
last resort and stigma to family members. The theme of poor fit with cultural
experience reflects participants difficulties in applying ideas of therapy into
practice in their every day lives. The findings and clinical implication will be
discussed.
|