Depression and other mental health issues

In this book, Aurora Tompar-Tiu and Juliana Sustento-Seneriches present the results of a comprehensive five-year study to reveal the psychological, social, and cultural influences that affect the mental health of Filipino Americans. The book offers practical strategies for treating mental disorders in the Filipino American community and outlines how treatment can be made more accessible and effective. The book is filled with vignettes that speak to the psychological well-being of Filipino Americans. It describes, for example, how it is common for Filipinos not to express negative feelings openly. The authors' sensitive research on this aspect of their culture explodes the common myth expressed in such comments as "Filipinos don't suffer from depression . . . they always look so happy." The book offers numerous examples that demonstrate the difficulties of cultural adjustment - losses experienced in the immigration process, changes in traditional male-female roles, shame-evoking situations in the workplace - that can lead to depression, anxiety, and brief reactive psychoses. Psychiatrists, psychologists and any professionals who work with Filipino Americans will find this book a valuable tool for providing more accurate assessment of their mental health status and ensuring delivery of appropriate culturally sensitive services.