The cultural and religious complexities of Amish-focused mental health conditions research: insights from an exhaustive narrative review and case study of counseling controversies

Abstract

ABSTRACT This exhaustive review of Amish mental health conditions research suggests that studies are well-executed by methodological protocols but that (1) findings are inconsistent or limited in generalizability, (2) instrument validity remains contested, and (3) study investigation into Amish cultural-religious dynamics is limited. We present a case study from a sizeable Amish settlement finds that documents how competing ideologies – notably old Amish religious theology, the scientific-psychological, and the Evangelical Protestant – have generated Amish-internal controversies over defining and treating mental health conditions, suggesting that Amish mental health conditions research may produce inconsistent findings if not accounting for internal cultural-religious dynamics. Future research should include pre-study investigations into the targeted population's cultural and religious dynamics, consist of more nuanced case reports from therapists and psychiatrists, and include replication studies at different times and places, with deliberate attention to contextual factors.