Browsing by Author "Dasan, Chandra"

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    How do Muslim service users, caregivers, and community members in Malappuram, Kerala, use their faith to address the challenges associated with mental ill health?
    (Taylor and Francis, 2023-05-23) Raghavan, Raghu; Brown, Brian J.; Hussain, Saliah; Kumar, Sanjana; Wilson, Amanda; Svirydzenka, N.; Kumar, Manoj; Ali, Ameer; Chandrasekharan, Anagha; Soletti, Asha Banu; Lakhanpaul, Monica; Iyer, Meena; Venkateswaran, Chitra; Dasan, Chandra; Sivakami, Muthusamy; Manickam, Sam; Barrett, Andy; Wilson, Mike
    Our aim was to explore the role religion and spiritual beliefs play in dealing with the challenges associated with mental ill health among the Muslim community in Malappuram, Kerala. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with patients of Islamic faith diagnosed with a mental health condition (n = 10) in urban (Ponnani) and rural (Vailathur) area of Malappuram, a Muslim majority district in Kerala, their family carers (n = 8) and community members (n = 6). Four key themes were derived, namely (1) Attribution to supernatural factors, (2) Relying on “God’s will”, (3) Prayer, and (4) Traditional healing. Faith was seen to be a prerequisite for any treatment, including modern medicine, to work. Even within a single faith group there can be considerable variation in belief and practice, with more pious participants disapproving of the reliance on local traditional healers and belief systems, highlighting the value of paying attention to the detail of local beliefs and practices.
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    Multiple Mental Health Literacies in a Traditional Temple Site in Kerala: The Intersection between Beliefs, Spiritual and Healing Regimes
    (Springer, 2022-06-06) Raghavan, Raghu; Horne, Francesca; Ram Kamal, Sreedevi; Parameswaran, Uma; Raghu, Ardra; Wilson, Amanda; Venkateswaran, Chitra; Svirydzenka, N.; Lakhanpaul, Monica; Dasan, Chandra; Brown, Brian J.
    The notion of ‘mental health literacy’ has been proposed as a way of improving mental health problem recognition, service utilisation and reducing stigma. Yet the idea embodies a number of medical-model assumptions which are often at odds with diverse communities’ spiritual traditions and local belief systems. Twenty participants were recruited to this study consisting of mental health service users (N = 7), family carers (N = 8) and community members (N = 5) in a temple town in Kerala, South India participated in semi structured interviews exploring the variety of beliefs and practices relating to mental health. Our findings indicate that the issue may be better understood in terms of multiple mental health literacies which people deploy in different circumstances. Even those sceptical of traditional and spiritual approaches are knowledgeable about them, and the traditional practices themselves often involve detailed regimes of activities aimed at effecting an improvement in the person’s mood or condition. Therefore, we argue it is appropriate to consider mental health literacy not as a unitary universal phenomenon but instead as a mosaic of different literacies which may be deployed in different settings and in line with different experiences and which may operate in synergy with each other to enable treatment but also facilitate a sense of meaning and purpose in life.
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    Stigma and mental health problems in an Indian context. Perceptions of people with mental disorders in urban, rural, and tribal areas of Kerala
    (Sage, 2022-05-01) Raghavan, Raghu; Brown, Brian J.; Horne, Francesca; Kumar, Sanjana; Parameswaran, Uma; Bin Ali, Ameer; Raghu, Ardra; Wilson, Amanda; Venkateswaran, Chitra; Svirydzenka, N.; Kumar, Manoj; Ram Kamal, Sreedevi; Barrett, Andy; Dasan, Chandra; Varma, Aarcha; Banu, Asha
    Background The concept of stigma has been widely used to understand patterns of discrimination and negative ideas surrounding people with mental health problems, yet we know little of the specific nuances of how this might operate beyond the ‘Global North’. Aim This paper aims to explore the notion of stigma in an Indian context by considering the lived experience of patients, carers and community members. Methods A sample of 204 participants, representing mental health patients, informal carers and community members was recruited from urban and rural areas in Kerala, India. Participants took part in interviews where they were encouraged to talk about their experiences of mental ill health, attitudes towards these problems, barriers encountered and sources of support. Results Experiences akin to the experience of stigma in Europe and the United States were elicited but there were important local dimensions specific to the Indian context. The difficulties faced by people with diagnoses of mental disorders in finding marriage partners was seen as an important problem, leading to marriage proposals being refused in some cases, and secrecy on the part of those with mental health problems. Rather than the ‘self-stigma’ identified in the US, participants were more likely to see this as a collective problem in that it could reflect badly on the family group as a whole rather than just the sufferer. Conclusions In the Indian context, the idioms of stigma emphasised impairments in marriage eligibility and the implications for the family group rather than just the self.