Interculturalisation in mental health care: a qualitative study on the perceptions of and experiences with interculturalisation of professionals in mental health care

Abstract

This thesis investigates the perceptions of and experiences with interculturalisation of professionals working in mental health care organizations. Furthermore, the influence of factors from both internal and external context to the mental health care system are examined. Professionals and managers at four different mental health care organizations have been interviewed, in order to compare the perceptions and experiences of professionals within each single organization, and to analyse the influence from the internal as well as external context of the mental health care organizations. From the research it can be concluded that there is much division among professionals in the way they perceive and experience interculturalisation. Moreover, their perceptions and experiences are influenced by several internal as well as external factors, such as the motivation for interculturalisation among managers (internal factor) and the political support for interculturalisation (external factor).