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• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 50 - 59 >> Lorenz - Interview 11 >> Lorenz says CAMs, except perhaps for acupuncture, do not change the chemicals in body and therefore can only help in the early stages of mental health

Lorenz is a 50 year old Black Afro-Caribbean man who has been in the UK since 1966. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia aged 20 and this is now controlled by the anti-psychotic Aripiprazole (10mg daily) enabling Lorenz to work as a social care assistant.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 40 - 49 >> Niabingi - Interview 01 >> Says different professionals had different responses to her using herbal remedies and that the white professionals were very sceptical.

This 42 year old Black, British born woman was diagnosed at the age of 25 with paranoid schizophrenia but disagrees with the paranoid part. She believes that her mental distress was caused by the racism she experienced when growing up.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 60 - 69 >> Anton - Interview 13 >> Anton tried various CAMs because he was desperate. He said they were only "lightening my wallet" and he would only try them again if there was a clini

Anton, 64, is an Asian man who came from Sri Lanka to the UK in 1962. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder aged 45 and was given various medicines but none worked. Now he is not receiving any treatment: he was told by doctors they had "given up" on him.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 30 - 39 >> Sara - Interview 32 >> Sara has found different supplements and herbal remedies helpful for relaxation, sleeping and reducing her depression, but says they were not a "magic

Sara, 34, describes herself as Indian and has a diagnosis of depression. Sara's food bingeing was interpreted as psychotic behaviour and she was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In her late twenties, however, a specialist diagnosed an eating disorder.

• Mental health >> Mental health: ethnic minority experiences >> Aged 60 - 69 >> Mae - Interview 04 >> Mae says herbal remedies have helped her, but urges people to be careful and to speak to their doctor and others who have tried them.

This 62 year old woman has manic depression and describes herself as mixed race. She enjoys life now and is glad to be alive. She thinks going to groups is important and says black families sometimes push away relatives with mental health problems.