Portfolio Volume 1.

This study developed initially through an interest in the overrepresentation of Black people in inpatient mental health services in the United Kingdom. Due to the lack of research specifically with the Black African community, an exploratory study using grounded theory methodology was used to explore Black African-born peoples' explanatory models of psychosis and their views in help-seeking in response to a hypothetical vignette. The aim of the study was to discover culturally informed views of psychosis and help-seeking in order to inform future research. Participants were recruited initially via the researcher's social network and then snowballed through participants and included eight men and women from four African countries. The emergent data demonstrated that participants hold multiple explanatory models of the symptoms presented, primarily including the Western medical model and those grounded in African models of health, including mental illness. These explanatory models seem to influence the help-seeking behaviour described by participants. In addition, participants described how multiple explanatory models may be used by people and multiple sources of help sought; informed by the cultural contexts to which participants had been exposed. The theoretical concept of acculturation was adapted theoretically in this study to a model of flexible acculturation according to domain (i.e. health), context and circumstance. This is a tentative theoretical approach in need of more investigation through research in the hope of ultimately developing a sound empirical base which can be used to inform services on how best they can engage minority groups in mental health services