title: Use of the Cultural Formulation in Stockholm: a qualitative study of mental illness experience among migrants.
abstract: This paper explores the contributions of the Cultural Formulation (CF) interview to an overall understanding of patients, and focuses on the narratives of 23 newly referred patients with migrant backgrounds seeking help at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Stockholm. Through text content analysis methods we identified five themes: displacement in space and time; mental illness as a physical disability; life events as etiological factors; concealing as a coping strategy; and being lost in a fragmented health care system. Findings indicate the need to contextualize symptoms for an in-depth comprehension of patients' phenomenology. Both clinical and policy implications are discussed. The findings suggest that a section on migration and acculturation should be added to the cultural formulation in the next edition of DSM.
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scarpinati Rosso
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bäärnhielm
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research