Cultural Barriers for South Asian American Women in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Treatment Retention

The cultural stigma of mental illness and substance abuse creates silence and barriers for some South Asian communities. While little is known about mental health challenges and substance use in South Asian (SA) females, it is especially important to understand the challenges and various obstacles that prevent formal treatment enrollment and retention. These include cultural stigma and patriarchal traditions whereby women's agency is removed, making treatment seeking and retention significantly harder. Treatment is often the "last resort," therefore social workers and clinicians have a small window of opportunity to engage SA female clients. The overarching framework of feminist therapy coupled with cultural humility are approaches that allow clinicians to be genuine and examine power and powerlessness with clients. These interventions build trust in the therapeutic relationship and empower the client to move toward liberatory change. Practitioners must also value the cultural traditions of collectivism, the influence of patriarchy, and the weight of cultural stigma. This article discusses interventions to engage and build therapeutic relationships with South Asian female clients and their unique challenges.