Understanding help seeking for mental health in rural South Australia: thematic analytical study

Abstract

This study investigated barriers to help seeking for mental health concerns and explored the role of psychological mindedness using semistructured interviews with sixteen adults in a South Australian rural centre. Prior research-driven thematic analysis identified themes of stigma, self-reliance and lack of services. Additional emergent themes were awareness of mental illness and mental health services, the role of general practitioners and the need for change. Lack of psychological mindedness was related to reluctance to seek help. Campaigns, interventions and services promoting mental health in rural communities need to be compatible with rural cultural context, and presented in a way that is congruent with rural values.