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Mental Health of Arab Americans: Cultural Considerations for Excellence of Care

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The Massachusetts General Hospital Textbook on Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity in Mental Health

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Psychiatry ((CCPSY))

Abstract

Immigrants from the Middle East constitute the highest proportion of migrants worldwide. Arab Americans, who make up the majority of Middle Eastern populations in the United States, are a heterogeneous group with diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Despite this heterogeneity, these immigrants may share a similar experience of migration and acculturative process.

This group remains poorly understood despite significant media and public attention it has received in recent years, and its diversity is often missed in clinical assessments and treatments. This is especially true in the mental health field where there is a significant paucity of evidence-based knowledge that can impede a professional’s ability to provide culturally sensitive treatments.

Unfortunately, professionals working with people of Arab origins may find only limited data to guide their understanding and treatment of the mental health problems of this population. Only few clinical studies have looked into the risk factors and the mental disorders of Arab Americans. The available research has been largely explorative in nature and remains negligible compared to studies involving other US minority groups.

Many cultural and religious considerations should guide the provision of culturally sensitive mental health services to Arab Americans. A good understanding of help-seeking attitudes and the obstacles to obtaining mental health services would better guide the creation of effective strategies for healthcare delivery in this growing community and mitigate against unsafe practices by both providers and patients.

As this community diversifies further and undergoes the process of acculturation, the mental health characteristics and needs of the Arab American population will continue to evolve. The scope and momentum of current research, education, and service delivery should parallel this evolution.

This chapter aims to provide clinicians, educators, and professionals with a better understanding of this community. It begins with a sociodemographic overview of Arab Americans and their immigration patterns followed by a review of the characteristics of their mental health. It then presents the cultural considerations pertinent to a culturally sensitive understanding of this population. Blended case vignettes are used to illustrate the cultural complexity encountered in the clinical setting. Finally, the chapter concludes with clinical recommendations to the professional treating Arab Americans.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobehavioral Medicine Consultants, Saint Clairsville, OH, USA

    Imad Melhem

  2. Division of Global Psychiatry, Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Zeina Chemali

  3. Counseling and Psychological Services, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Ashlee Wolfgang

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  1. Imad Melhem
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  2. Zeina Chemali
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  3. Ashlee Wolfgang
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Correspondence to Imad Melhem .

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  1. American Psychiatric Association, Arlington, VA, USA

    Ranna Parekh

  2. Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA

    Nhi-Ha T. Trinh

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Melhem, I., Chemali, Z., Wolfgang, A. (2019). Mental Health of Arab Americans: Cultural Considerations for Excellence of Care. In: Parekh, R., Trinh, NH. (eds) The Massachusetts General Hospital Textbook on Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity in Mental Health. Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20174-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20174-6_9

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