New Sudanese Community Association of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota

Note 1: The Four handouts, including a list of panel members and their professional credentials, are available at the office of the New Sudanese Community Association, Fargo, ND 701-241-8590

Note 2: These notes were typed by Bill Slanger; his handwritten notes are also available at the office of the New Sudanese Community Association; these are Bill’s notes, and although they are direct quotes from the handouts of the panelists or of their statements, the extent of their correctness, accuracy, and any applicability is left to the reader’s judgment. The New Sudanese Community Association assumes no responsibility for the use of any of the material here presented.

There were six panel members, all of whom were either first or second generation African immigrants. There were psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, community workers, and an ordained priest. They all knew what they were talking about.

Summary points:

A study sponsored by the World Health Organization, World Bank, and Harvard University concluded that mental illness contributes 15% of the loss of productivity world wide due to all illnesses. This 15% is the largest percentage of all identified diseases (all nations and ethnicities) identified as contributing to the loss of productivity

In Africa, mental illness can be viewed as 1) punishment from God for one’s sins and/or 2) not making appropriate and/or sufficient sacrifices to Deities

At least in West African culture, denial and ostracism from home and community are associated with mental illness, which is assumed to be incurable

The World Health Organization’s General Definition of Mental Health is “as state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

Treatment must include an understanding of the patient’s origin, culture, bias, phobias, as well as personal history

Medication gets thrown away more often than not if the patient does not understand the reason why it is prescribed and its effects

There are not accidents in African, i.e., everything, e.g., mental illness, has a cause

Throughout the ages, the majority of African people sought and received mental care from Traditional Therapist/Healer

In Africa, a mentally ill person is not necessarily treated kindly – American translation: “Don’t be crazy in Africa.”

10.

Again, mental illness is stigmatized in Africa

11.

What does research say about how the people of color, including African people, use mental health services:

a.		Drop out of services at a significantly higher rate than other ethnic groups

b.		Use fewer treatment sessions for their mental health problems than white populations

c.		Under utilize community mental health services of all kinds

d.		Over utilize in-patient psychiatric care at twice the rate of corresponding other populations

e.		Are more often misdiagnosed by mental health practioners than other populations (families and the African Culture are not taken into account as much as is desirable)

f.		And are more diagnosed as having severe mental illnesses when compared to members of other ethnic groups

12.

Africans are not used to expressing what is going on inside themselves, i.e., this type of self expression is not encouraged in the African Culture

13.

Depression is not as prevalent in Africans because of the social/family culture of Africa

14.

In the U.S., parents are working too many hours to spend time with their children; in Africa there is the village to help raise the children – not so in America

15.

African culture is often interpreted as aggressive

16.

Africans lose the value of community when they come to the U.S.A, because the individual is so worshiped in U.S.A.

17.

Immigrants can enhance the U.S.A. bureaucratic system over the years; after all it has been modified for 200 years by immigrants