Introduction

Help Seeking
Health-seeking behavior has been defined as the activity undertaken by individuals
who perceive themselves to have a health problem or to be ill for the purpose of
finding an appropriate remedy [1]. In past help seeking behavior was a negative
behavior because of its dependency on outside sources as well as it negative effects
on the student, such as embarrassment and damage to self-esteem. In the eighties, the
idea of help seeking was changed after the educational researchers found the
importance of student to seek help particularly when they faced ambiguity or
difficulty in schoolwork, to be able to continue with the learning process [2].
There are various factors which effect help-seeking behavior such as socio-cultural
factors, social networks, gender and economic status[1]. In addition, the cost of
treatment and prescribed medicines, healthcare provider attitude as well as the poor
access to help seeking facilities which led to use other treatment sources such as
community pharmacies, drug peddlers, herbal medicine, religious or spiritual care
organizations[1]. There are five important element of help seeking which are [3]:
Process past behavior
Source:
o friends or family
o telephone counselling
o the internet
o doctors or professionals:
general practitioner
psychologist
psychiatrist
mental health nurse
other mental health professional
other specialist doctor
other health professional who provide general services
including social workers, occupational therapists or counselors
complementary or alternative therapist
Problem :
o mental problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, or dependence
on drugs or alcohol
Assistance:
o information about mental illness, its treatment and available services
o medicine or tablets
o psychotherapy discussion about causes that stem from the past
o cognitive behaviour therapylearning how to change your thoughts,
behaviours and emotions
o counselling help to talk through your problems
o help to sort out housing or money problems
 o help to improve your ability to work, or to use your time in other ways
o help to improve your ability to look after yourself or your home
o help to meet people for support or company
o o other specify
Timeframemost questions were framed as In the past 12 months, but some
asked about lifetime (ever).
Mental Health.
Mental health disorders involve disturbances in thinking, emotion, and behavior.
Small disturbances in these aspects of life are common, but when such disturbances
distress the person greatly and interfere with daily life, they are considered mental
illness or a mental health disorder. The effects of mental illness may be long-lasting
or temporary. These disorders are caused by complex interactions between physical,
psychologic, social, cultural, and hereditary influences. Seeking help is important if
people are to access appropriate mental health services.
Mental Health and Help Seeking Behavior in UAE
In the United Arab Emirates, nearly 18% of the population suffers from mental Health
[1]. These mental health problems might be due to the fast social and economic
changes in last 30 years as well as the external influences of other cultures, which
showed a huge impact on the values, beliefs, and role expectations of individuals
particularly for those who may have not being able to adjust to these changes. As
result, mental health becomes a one of the main health priority area for United Arab
Emirates. Despite the high dominance of mental illness and governmental effort to
establish a competent mental health services in UAE, most people do not access
professional health care for mental health problems. The declining of the
psychological practices might be due to the socio-political and historical events,
which influence of Arab cultures as well as the lack of the awareness of the
availability of mental health services. Furthermore, most patients and families who
are inflicted with a psychological problem, tend to see the infliction as part of a
mindset that attributes a condition to evil eye or demonic passion which lead
them to seek help from religious healers (called Mattawa who often uses Quran
and traditional medicine) rather than using the mental health services in UAE.
However, a recent study on college students from UAE University shows that
students with high education reported to have more tolerance to stigma and more
confidence in psychological help providers.
 Mental health among college students
First year college can be difficult experience for many students, which can lead to
stress, anxiety and depression. There are many factors that act as barriers for seeking
mental health help (Vogel et al., 2007). First, lack of awareness of services and
perceptions of stigma have been identified as factors that can limit mental health help-
seeking while social group influences may motivate individuals to seek help (Vogel et
al., 2007). A lack of knowledge about campus mental health resources is a barrier to
mental help-seeking in college students. Studies suggest approximately 30% of
students do not know counseling services are available (Eisenberg et al., 2007;
Yorgason et al. 2008), and among those students who do know services exist, many
do not know what kind of help is offered (Yorgason et al., 2008). This lack of
awareness of services makes it difficult for students to actively seek help. Also,
Stigma is consistently viewed as one of the major barriers to mental health help-
seeking, and has differential impacts (Corrigan, 2004). Individuals who view mental
health help seeking as stigmatizing may fear they will be discriminated against or
looked upon differently because they believe society holds negative views regarding
those who seek help. Furthermore, individuals may internalize these stigmatizing
views to theextent that it affects their self-esteem and identity. Individuals who
believe mental health help-seeking is stigmatized are less likely to seek help or talk
about their mental health needs (Loya, Reddy, & Hinshaw, 2010), even though they
may indicate it is acceptable for others to seek help (Eisenberg, Downs, Golberstein,
& Zivin, 2009). One way a lack of awareness of services, perceptions of stigma, and
peer support can be addressed is through the implementation of a communication
campaign. Campaigns have successfully raised awareness of campus issues and are
effective in changing attitudes toward social topics (Snyder et al., 2004). There are
several studies that have identified barriers to help seeking in student
populations(Eisenberg, Downs, Golberstein, & Zivin, 2009)( Daniel Eisenberg,
Marilyn F. Downs, Ezra Golberstein, Kara Zivin ,2009)(Kristin Pace, Kami Silk,
Samantha Nazione, Laura Fournier & Jan CollinsEaglin (2016) (Michelle Kearns,
Orla T. Muldoon , Rachel M. Msetfi and Paul W. G. Surgenor,2015). In their research
they found that common barriers include a lack of a perceived need for help, being
unaware of services or insurance coverage, and skepticism about treatment
effectiveness(. They also found that service use was especially infrequent among
students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, international students, and Asian
American students. In addition, they found that stigmatizing attitudes of students
about mental illness (but not their perceptions of others stigma) were associated with
lower help-seeking behavior. On the other hand, their data suggest that ability to pay
is probably not a major barrier for most students, as more than 90% of students in our
samples have health insurance and the majority of campuses offer free or highly
subsidized health services. Although we are beginning to understand some of the
individual and social barriers and facilitators to help seeking among college students,
there is a surprising lack of evidence on how campus-level interventions, policies, and
resources affect help seeking. For example, campuses vary widely in their supply of
mental health providers and other resources, but, to their knowledge, there is no
published evidence on how these factors relate to treatment use. Future studies should
concentrate on disentangling how demand-side versus supply-side barriers affect help
seeking among students. In terms of campus interventions, many campuses have
adopted screening programs and stigma reduction campaigns, but there are limited
published reports demonstrating the effectiveness of these programs, and it is often
difficult to generalize results across campuses with differing populations and
resources.

This interview was done for several reasons: at first to raise the awareness among the
student about the help seeking service that the university provides. Second to know
the main reasons those prevent or obstruct student to seek help. Third the intervention
was needed in mahras case because she was in very dangerous stage. Also, to change
the negative idea regarding help seeking for mental health in UAE society particularly
in UAEU. Finally as consoler is my job to help the student to overcome this difficult
life changing period in their lifetime.