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Abstract
In the field of psychology, while there is growing research on the development of attitudes, stigma and perceptions towards help-seeking and utilizing mental healthcare in various countries and cultures around the world, not much has been written about such issues in The Islands of The Bahamas. There is also a void of insight from Bahamians directly, only generalizations resulting from studies from other islands in the Caribbean region. As a collectivistic country, the fear of embarrassing the family name and being seen, as Bahamians would say, of having “something really wrong with ya head” stemming from the history surrounding institutionalization due to colonization and “The Crazy Hill” often prevents Bahamians from considering support. This study explored the general Bahamian population’s attitudes towards help-seeking and utilizing mental healthcare, as well as the need/want for services, factors that would increase or decrease the utilization of services and documented the factors that contributed to these beliefs. The study used descriptive statistics to consider both personal and environmental factors that impact the utilization of mental health services (counseling/therapy) as well as to explore the relationship between key demographic variables and attitudes toward help-seeking. Participants were 307 Bahamian residents with ages ranging from 18 to 65 and older. Findings of this study suggested that there were five key factors that impacted Bahamians’ willingness to utilize counseling/therapy. Data was described and grouped into the following themes: (1) willingness to disclose (2) social and self-stigma (3) privacy and confidentiality (4) location and resources and (5) willingness to confide.
