An update! The Internet delivers some data points on the question of Chinese Canadians specifically and mental health.

This study by Chen and Kazanjian looks at primary health care providers (GPs, in Canada) and language, specifically Chinese Canadians, and points out of a lot of interesting things. I found this bit in the abstract relevant:

For appropriate mental health services to be provided, clinicians must be able to exchange information with their patients and understand their mental health status within the cultural context. In many cultures, psychological disturbances are expressed as somatic symptoms or not considered health issues at all. Thus, if Chinese immigrants with emotional distress seek medical care, they often present with somatic complaints. Whether the underlying mental health issues are solicited and recognized is crucial to access to services.

I don't know what a “somatic complaint” is. There are also some interesting numbers on the chances of receiving mental health diagnoses and mental health consultation. I'm certainly bookmarking this one for future reference and more detailed combing.

Thanks for your kind words.

The issue is so multi-faceted, like all interactions of people and technology. There are some things that we may view as being positive and some that, for a whole swath of reasons, we may view as being neutral, negative, or very detrimental to the values we hold dear. I think that's what draws me to keep coming back to the academic realm on this topic: seeing how the technologies challenge us to redefine or rearticulate our values in the face of what we individually and collectively weren't able to do or be before.

I did not know about the Chinese mental health group. I did know, however, that SUCCESS has counseling services, which IIRC are mostly directed towards new immigrants but also have some broader outreach. My read is that differences embedded in cultural interpretations (for instance, focus on past vs. future, collective vs. individual desires) make providing mental health support a particularly sticky challenge, beyond simply overcoming the language.

Yes, all three topics are interesting, and hopefully we'll be able to get some people involved who might know something about these topics to answer me and my questions

i must say that i find the third topic terribly interesting. without much reflection, i'm thinking how this could touch on the topic of internet addiction. it may also be a good time to talk about something like 2nd life (something that i have stayed away from precisely because i'm already skirting internet addiction – don't want to tempt myself too much!)

the first topic is interesting to me, as well – diversity is something that is never talked about enough, and there is no question that most mental health services are used and provided by caucasians. (btw, are you aware of the chinese mental health group at the CMHA – which just got cut by 30%?)

actually, all three topics are interesting