DEARBORN — Last week, the community was shocked by the death of a young woman who took her own life. The tragic event raised questions in the community about mental health and ways to prevent and treat psychological problems.

Two experts said that the Arab American community needs to improve the way it approaches mental health issues, as well as accept, encourage and accomodate people who need help.

ACCESS is one of the places people can turn to in order to seek professional psychological help.

ACCESS health director Dr. Adnan Hammad said the non-profit organization offers behavioral, educational and group therapy, as well as counseling. 

“All of our therapists are certified professionals, who are culturally and linguistically accommodating to patients,” he said, adding that he likes to refer to psychological health as “behavioral health.”

Hammad said there is a stigma about mental health in the Arab American community, where people are shamed or humiliated when seeking professional psychological help.

“When a woman is pregnant everybody wants to make sure she is healthy. Her husband, her parents, her in laws are always checking up on her, and that’s great,” he said. “But compare that to mental health. If you’re suffering from depression, nobody thinks you should seek counseling. Some children live with epilepsy and ADHD for years, and their parents say, ‘they’re just misbehaving.'”

Hammad described psychological problems as deep, invisible wounds. “But when you feel them, you must deal with them,” he said. 

He added that physical well-being and physical health are inseparable, as psychological issues can affect the heart, blood pressure and nervous system.

Hammad said the stigma about mental health is a universal problem, but it is more prominent in communities that expect perfection from their members, such as ours.

He said ACCESS has tried to combat the stigma through working with schools, community organizations and religious institutions. 

Hammad added that he has witnessed improvement in the community’s attitude toward mental health over the years, as more people are acknowledging their problems and seeking help.

“We have close to 2,500 clients in our behavioral health departments. When I started with ACCESS 20 years ago, we had a couple hundred,” he stated. “The community did get larger, but there is also more acceptance.”

The doctor said that employers in the community should not be discouraged from employing individuals who are recovering from psychological problems because they are capable of working, and, moreover, jobs help patients recover faster. 

Hammad said people should seek treatment “whenever they feel something is not going right.” According to the doctor, self-harm, regular inability to sleep, lack of focus and concentration, paranoia, hallucinations, repeated mistakes at work, substance abuse and reckless behavior are symptoms that require professional attention.”

“But the person suffering from these symptoms will not notice them immediately, so it is the duty of the people surrounding him to ask him to seek help,” he said. “We have a role to play as a community.”

Dr. Hoda Amine, a Dearborn-based psychologist, said the best way to approach a person you love who is suffering from symptoms of psychological issues is to ask him to see a physician, not a psychologist. She said the doctor would then refer him to a psychologist if he needs one.

She said telling people they need psychological help might appear judgmental, “but they accept it from a doctor as an authority figure.”

However, Amine complained that community doctors do not always refer patients in need of counseling to psychologists and often prescribe anti-depressants themselves.

Amine said depression could be caused by a troubled childhood and upbringing. 

“When a child grows in a dysfunctional family without being given the right attention, he feels guilt, with no self-worth or self-esteem,” she said. “That child grows up looking for love in the wrong places. He ends up being deprived and depressed.”

As for troubled kids, Amine said parents are sometimes the reason behind their problems. “Children react to what they see at home and reflect it in school,” she said.

She said homesickness could also be a cause of depression for recent immigrants, who are uprooted from their familiar environment, especially if they do not have people to support them and help them understand their new surroundings after relocating to the United states. 

“If new immigrants clash with the system, their lives become chaotic,” she explained.

The psychologist said the first step to mental wellness is being aware of the problems. “To be able to talk to someone about your issues, you’ve got to validate them,” she said. 

She added that in order to become aware of his problems, one must stop the “victimization process,” in which he blames others for the difficulties he is facing.

She said some patients who are referred to her by their doctors insist that they are fine and that there is nothing wrong with them.

“People have to address their issues with people who are neutral,” she said. “Friends and family members are subjective. The problem is that as a culture we focus on illness instead of wellness. If somebody is having a panic attack, we say it’s a heart attack.”

Amine said once people commit to counseling, they have to determine the reasons behind their depression and work on them.

“There are no quick fixes. People have to take responsibility of their own healing and be willing to take steps that would make them feel better,” she said.

Amine said some psychological disorders are caused by physical dysfunctions, and medication can help treat the physical trouble so the patients can focus more squarely on their issues.

“Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post traumatic stress disorder and even depression are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain,” she said. “We prescribe medication to stabilize those chemicals. But medication is mislabeled. We have to be open minded.”

However, she acknowledged that medication can be overused, especially with children. “But that’s another extreme,” she said.

Amine said all people should focus on their mental well-being and try to avoid situations that would cause them psychological issues, especially in marriage and economic dealings. “Prevention is better than intervention,” she said.

If you are facing urgent psychological difficulties, call the Wayne County Crisis Hotline at 313.244.7000. Crisis hotline operators are available 24/7 to listen to callers and counsel them against harming themselves and using drugs. People can also call 211, an information hotline, which can direct callers to organizations and doctors to help them tackle their problems.

Dr. Amine’s phone number is 313.801.HOPE (4673). ACCESS behavioral health department can be reached at 313.945.8138. The ACC’s behavioral health department in Detroit could be reached at 313-581-7287. ACCESS, the ACC and Amine offer counseling to patients in both Arabic and English.