Tolkning av psykisk ohälsa och bemötande av personer med olika etnisk bakgrund i vården

Abstract The background to this essay has been curiosity and interest from my side regarding equality care is conducted in health care. The purpose was to study how care addresses people of different ethnicity in terms of psychosocial support and what interpretations are made about the care of the psychosocial support of foreigners. The aim was also to see how care can create the conditions for a good response to equal treatment. The study is qualitative in which five professionals who have the interview as tools have been interviewed. The informants have different undergraduate education but common to them is that they all treat mental ill health with the help of the conversation. I have leaned against previous research that includes the concepts of mental ill health, intercultural meetings, cultural differences, communication and knowledge. With the help of previous research and theoretical starting points, the empirical material has been analyzed. The result showed that health care considers the language to be the biggest cultural difference and the biggest challenge in terms of the encounter with people suffering from some form of mental illness. Shades of their thoughts and feelings are difficult to express when not speaking the same language. The informants also consider that knowledge about other cultures, norms and values is too small and that more is required. In order to get such equal treatment as possible, we need to be able to meet people from other cultures where they are in their norms and values regarding mental health. One must also be able to provide care from an intercultural perspective, which means that as a therapist, one has to be aware of the specific conditions that exist in the meeting with those seeking care. Key words: mental ill health, intercultural meetings, cultural differences, communication, knowledge, standards