Need to Culturally Adapt and Improve Access to Evidence-Based Psychosocial Interventions for Canadian South-Asians: A Call to Action

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Research into social determinants of mental and emotional health problems highlighted the need to understand the cultural factors. Mental health of immigrants is influenced by a variety of cultural, psychological, social, and economic factors. There is some evidence to suggest that South Asian people have higher rates of mental and emotional health problems than the rest of the Canadian population. Limited research also suggests that psycho-social factors are highly likely to be responsible for these high rates of mental health problems. These psychosocial factors may be impeding access and engagement with the services. These socially determined emotional and mental health problems are more likely to respond to psychosocial interventions than biological treatments. Evidence-based psychosocial interventions such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) might offer the way forward. CBT can be offered in a low-cost, low intensity format in a variety of settings, thus addressing the attached stigma. However, these interventions need to be culturally adapted, as these are underpinned by a Western value system. CBT has been culturally adapted and found to be effective in this group elsewhere. This opinion paper describes the need to enhance research on psychosocial determinants of the mental and emotional health problems, status, and the psychosocial determinants of health amongst South Asians in Canada to inform our understanding of the cultural specificity of psychosocial interventions.