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New Research Sets out to “Explore the Mental Health Perspectives” among Orthodox Jews

New Research Sets out to “Explore the Mental Health Perspectives” among Orthodox Jews

By Yehudit Garmaise

While a body of research proves that strong religious beliefs and practices can provide many positive benefits to psychological resilience and mental health, most of that research is based on the study of non-Jewish beliefs and practices, said Rob Whitley, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal, who wants to change that by exploring the mental health perspectives and experiences among Orthodox Jews.

What researchers have proven is that religious faith is important on a daily basis, but especially in times of heightened stress and vulnerability, for example, when experiencing life-cycle events such as marriage, childbirth, grief, and physical illness. 

“Religion can provide a helpful framework for understanding [life], as well as beneficial social resources,” wrote Dr. Whitley, who also pointed out that the mental health of the two million Orthodox Jews worldwide, according to Psychology Today, remains particularly under-researched, which can lead to a “clumsy and confused clinical-patient interactions.”

Clinicians’ lack of familiarity with Orthodox Jewish practices and beliefs can cause professional “incompetence” and contribute to the “unaddressed needs” in the Jewish community.

The small amount of existing research reveals that Orthodox Jews who are confronted mental health issues may avoid using official mental health services.

Sadly, many common mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, can remain unnecessarily untreated when community members tend to consult such services in serious cases only, or not at all.

The “lack of religious competence among clinicians,” Dr. Whitley wrote, may feed the mistrust of Orthodox Jews who choose to stay away from getting the services or medications they need. 

In addition, religious Jews often turn first to their faiths and their rabbis, rebbes, rebbetzins, and strong community networks for emotional support, and thereby overlook the help that mental health professionals can provide in times of crisis.

To both educate and inform members of the Jewish community and the clinicians who treat them, Dr. Whitley has launched a new research study that examines the mental health beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors among Orthodox Jews by collaborating with Jewish organizations, experienced clinicians, religious leaders.

To gather data, Dr. Whitley said his research team “will conduct in-depth interviews with Jewish men and women who have had mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, to better understand their experience with official mental health services, especially on matters related to the cultural competence of clinicians.”

The data that the study generates will produce resources in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew that provide information for Orthodox Jews on “mental health literacy; navigating the mental health system; and culturally-grounded self-care strategies that can be used to foster recovery.”

“We also plan to produce resources and trainings for health service providers and medical students to increase their cultural and religious competence,” Dr. Whitley wrote. 



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