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• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for a parent >> Elaine - Interview 32 >> Elaine talks about how she felt when the social services wanted to section her father (played by an actor).

Elaine was the main carer for her father for the last four years of his life. He suffered from vascular dementia and Elaine feels both he as a patient and she as a carer were let down by the system.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for a son or daughter >> Nick - Interview 02 >> Nick lost confidence when he was told that his son's symptoms were the result of his parenting.

Nick and his wife have cared for their son with paranoid schizophrenia for almost 12 years. In the beginning Nick didn't feel heard by health professionals, but today he is a very involved.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for a sister or brother >> Ramila - Interview 13 >> Ramila says 'you just know' racism is there, even if it is difficult to explain.

Ramila has been caring for her brother who is diagnosed with schizophrenia for ten years. She thinks carers and service users deserve to be treated with more respect.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for a sister or brother >> Sophie - Interview 09 >> Sophie says we all notice race, but the problem comes when workers make decisions based on stereotypes.

Sophie has always had a caring role for her sister Angel. Angel is diognosed with Schizophrenia, but Sophie thinks this diagnosis is based on behaviour resulting from inappropriate medication of a mental disability and behavioral problems.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for other or more than one relative >> Guo - Interview 14 >> Gou has been called racist names and told to 'go home' many times, but he avoids confrontation.

Guo has been caring for two sons with bi-polar disorder for over twenty years. He doesn't think the current services meet the needs of people with mental health problems.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for other or more than one relative >> Raye - Interview 30 >> Raye thinks there is racism in mental health services and in society generally.

Raye grew up with mental health problems in the family. Today, she is the main carer for her father (paranoid schizophrenia), her sister (schizophrenia) and her brother (manic depression). She now feels she needs to let go of some of the responsibilities and focus on her own life.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> People caring for other or more than one relative >> Indira - Interview 08 >> She says professional home carers make remarks because she is Asian and Muslim.

Indira has been caring for her aunt who has Alzheimer's disease for five years. She believes older people deserve to be treated with respect.

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• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences >> Mental health: ethnic minority carers’ experiences

Publication date: 19^th June 2008         Last updated: November 2010

Review date: November 2012

 

We interviewed 32 carers from different minority ethnic communities about their experiences of caring for someone in their family with a mental health problem. Six of these carers didn’t want to have their story on the internet.

 

Interviews in other languages: Bengali (Interview 7); Chinese (Interview 28, 29, 31); Gujurati (Interview 26, 27); Punjabi (Interview 23). See ‘People's stories’ section for these numbered interviews.

 

See also... Mental health: ethnic minority experiences