Transcript Rationale - Sheffield Hallam University

Psychological wellbeing and
young Somali women in Sheffield


a qualitative study with
young Somali women
around their
experiences and
understanding of
emotional well-being
and problems.
Sara Whittaker et al:
Clinical child
psychology and
psychiatry (2005).
10(2) 177-96.

Dr. Sara Whittaker,
Clinical Psychologist, RHH
- 2713583.
Prof. Gillian Hardy and Dr.
Linda Buchan.
Dr. Kathryn Lewis (SCTWest Child and Family
Therapy Service).

2001 - 2003.
Method & Design

Qualitative
 3 Group
Discussions and 6
follow up Individual
Interviews
 2 before and 1
follow-up group to
check themes and
transcripts
 Prior and ongoing
work with informants
– cross-cultural
understandings.




Utilise workshop-type
techniques –to build
trust, engage and
motivate involvement.
Audio-Tape.
Interpretative
Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA – Smith
et al) – new to groups.
Co-constructed
transculturally
between participants
and researcher
 Themes
& Sub-themes

1. Resilience and Protection
 1a. ‘Get on with it’ approach
 1b. Support (family, religion, services)

2. Identity and Beliefs
 2a. Conflict and convergence
 2b. Navigation and acculturation



3. Concealment, Secrets and Distancing
3a. Concealing concepts and emotions
3b. Secrets
1.Theme 1: Resilience and Protection
Support: Family

And lots of relatives … so I won’t
feel lonely. … They visit us quite
often. (Laughs) … It’s not good to be
lonely. Some people, they don’t visit
their relatives, they stay alone. Maybe
sometimes something will enter them,
and they feel distressed. … It means
sometimes
they
may
talk
to
themselves.
…
Anything could
happen to you. [Zeta]
Support: Religion


 Every step that
Religion was another
strong force in the
you take you have
participants’ lives,
to refer it from the
promoting psychological
Qur’an and Islam
wellbeing and providing
and read chapters.
guidance in difficult
… We believe the,
periods.
the religious is like
The Qur’an was a source
a medicine for life.
of guidance in how to
react, understand, and
[Aisha - Group 2]
cope with loss and
difficulties.
** Spirit Possession
Religion – Islamic
jinn possession
 Culture – zar or Sar:
Somalian traditions
and practices
 (DSM – IV, 1994: zar
or zaar – culture
bound syndrome)





Mental health
Protection
Treatment
Confusing,
 complex,
 misunderstood,
 different
interpretations.
Treating spirit possession

Religious leaders
… can do certain
spiritual things to
kind of release her
from whatever’s
possessing her. …
So I’d just take her,
I don’t know, to a
mosque or
something
[Monique]

Zar ceremonies

You have to have faith. …
God can help them, nobody
else can, help them … {The
Iman} might recite the Qur’an;
{the spirit} might go. And if it
doesn’t go, you, you don’t
have to give up, just keep
trying. … It’s just like it’s a
punishment, you know, God’s
give you. … So the zar, my
aunty still has it, I don’t
{know} whether, when it’s
going to go, {it} depends on
Allah, God. [Anna]
2. Theme 2. Identity and beliefs
2a. Conflict and convergence

Conflicts between
religion and culture are
exemplified by the
debates concerning
spirit possession,
gender, family
responsibilities, and
female circumcision.

Honest to god,
culture wise it’s
just crazy. …
Culture has just
gone totally wrong.
… So that shows
culture is more
strong than
anything else.
[Aisha - Group 2]
2b. Navigation and Acculturation


More recently arrived
asylum-seekers tended to
have more traditional
beliefs,
had
familial
experience
of
zar
possession in Somalia,
and were very concerned
about and afraid of zar
spirits possessing and
controlling them.
They believed that zar
could
explain
anger,
nightmares,
unusual
behaviours, pains, and
even pregnancy.

We’re scared of that
people … sometimes
they
speak
to
themselves. … If you
touch anything of
them, you know, what
{the zar} likes, you
know, he might get
angry at you, and he
might go to you.
[Anna - Group 2]

The women who had
been in England for
longer (and were
more acculturated to
western ideologies)
were very sceptical
about the existence
of zar and of cultural
methods for dealing
with possession.

They were more likely
to feel that spirit
possession was
“freaky”, “weird”, and
“silly”.

Some person will say, ‘I
want a party today
because my zar wants
this and that, and this
and that’, which is a bit!
…
I think, for me it’s, the
way I see it, it’s a crazy
thing. I can remember
when I was a kid and I
used to see my aunty
doing crazy things then,
I used to say, no, silly,
it’s just silly … She
believed it! [Shabia]



Shabia and Aisha thought
that some people who were
called “possessed” might
actually be “ill”.
The women were not sure
whether features like
having additional strength
supported the existence of
spirit possession or mental
illness.
It was largely felt that
spirits would leave by
reading the Qur’an or
seeking exorcism from the
Iman.


For illness and
mental health
problems
participants felt
that religion or
medicine, not zar
ceremonies, were
needed.
However the use
of religion does not
forbid the use of
medical or other
services.
3. Theme 3. Concealment, Secrets
and Distancing
Concealing Concepts and Emotions

concealing spirit
possession from
each other –
especially if been in
UK longer
 tending to say that
mental health
problems and
psychiatric
medication were
“not for them”

appearance was
important for the
Somali women in
assessing and
describing
psychological
wellbeing
Conclusion and outcomes

Cultural
Knowledge:

Complex insight into
refugee Somali women –
tensions and confusions,
particularly around support
and concealment.
The study details unique
personal experiences and
provides a window into the
participants’ world and
understanding.


Cultural
Competence:

Consider how to develop
services, and one to one
work.
Navigate between metaphors
and develop shared
understandings & trust.
Fears re confidentiality –
family and professionals.



Spirit possession.
Clinical implications




Differences within and
between cultures.
Not all Somalis hold the
same beliefs.
Need to navigate between
different metaphors and
social understandings of
distress, between training
and clients’
understandings.
Cultural beliefs may be
helpful or unhelpful for
different therapies.





Participants asked that:
Professionals learn a little
about their culture
They could access services
without Somalis knowing
because of concerns about
confidentiality.
Accessing services could be
seen as abandoning a
relative.
Clinicians need to establish
whether ideas about spirit
possession are relevant, as
religious or traditional
techniques for dealing with
emotional problems may also
be being utilised.