Role of culture and religious beliefs on non-medical help-seeking behavior among patients with chronic mental illnesses (CMIs) in Türkiye.

Background: Cultural beliefs significantly shape societal attitudes toward mental illness, and these social attitudes profoundly impact help-seeking behaviors. Therefore, it is important to focus on understanding and addressing these social behaviors.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of chronic mental illness interpretations based on culture and religious beliefs on non-medical help-seeking behaviors among patients in Türkiye.

Methods: The study was conducted from September to October 2023 using an inductive qualitative approach. In-depth face-to-face interviews were carried out with individuals diagnosed with chronic mental illness and their relatives, registered in a state-owned Community Mental Health Center (CMHC) in Türkiye. Using purposive sampling, 13 individuals who met the criteria were interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes.

Results: Three main themes and eight sub-themes were identified, including the reasons for seeking non-medical help (psychological challenges, subjective norms, physical requirements), factors contributing to seeking non-medical help (predisposing factors, enabling factors, and myths), and reflections on the benefits of non-medical practices (perceived physical benefits, perceived psychological benefits).

Conclusions: It was concluded that individuals with chronic mental illness and their relatives living in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye engaged in non-medical help-seeking behaviors and mostly turned to traditional religious practices. Culture and religious beliefs emerged as primary factors leading patients to seek non-medical treatment approaches. Consequently, there is a perceived need to explore non-medical alternative methods across various mental health settings and with diverse samples in future research endeavors.