PhD by Dr Mujeeb Bhatti: 'Exploring the Feasibility of Behavioural Activation Therapy Delivered by Faith Leaders for Depression in Pakistan'
In Pakistan, it is hard for people to get the mental health support they need because the regular healthcare services are so stretched. When people feel low or depressed therefore many (around one in three) turn to their faith leaders for help. Dr Bhatti's PhD looked at whether it is workable for faith leaders to deliver behavioural activation for depression in Pakistan and how a BA intervention could best be crafted for delivery in this manner and context.
In order to do this he reviewed both the literature on mental health support for people in Pakistan, and on how faith leaders' practices help people with common mental health problems and what makes it easy or difficult for them to offer this help. He also interviewed faith leaders and people with depression who had sought help from faith leaders about their experiences. He found that, while people who had experienced depression found some of the interventions from religious healers useful, they felt that the latter did not always understand fully the nature of mental illness.
On the side of the faith leaders, although they were eager to expore additional ways of supporting those experiencing mental health problems, they were resistant to the idea of being trained by healthcare professionals. The key conclusion of the study is that there is a need for more dialogue between faith leaders, healthcare professionals, and participants on the possibilities for integrating faith-based practices into behavioural activation.