Kashmiri women's perceptions of their emotional and psychological needs, and access to counselling

This paper explores the meaning of mental illness for Kashmiri women, the issues that cause them distress, their coping mechanisms, and their perceptions and understanding of counselling. Interviews were used to compare the experiences and attitudes of two groups of Kashmiri women: those born in Britain and those who had been brought up in Kashmir and had settled in Britain as adults. It was found that Kashmiri women in this study had a clear understanding of mental illness, with little difference in beliefs between those born and raised in the UK and those brought up in Kashmir. In both groups the majority of those who were not aware of formal counselling still wanted to talk to a professional about their emotional distress. The majority of UK born women, and a smaller proportion of Kashmiri born women, were aware of counselling. Most women associated it with talking to someone about one's feelings, about problems in one's heart, in one's mind, and as a means of support when experiencing distress. The implications of these findings for practice are discussed.

Key words:

• coping
• counselling
• culture
• emotion
• mental illness
• questionnaire
• women