Seeking and receiving mental health care

Recent studies have helped to specify how cultural, social, and organizational factors influence the seeking and receiving of outpatient psychiatric treatment.The findings indicate that limited access is not a major obstacle to entering mental health services. In contrast, cultural factors (particularly education, ethnicity, age, and sex) are strongly associated with who does or does not enter and who remains in treatment. Research also shows a substantial mismatch between the need for and the reception of mental health treatment.