HIDDEN SURVIVORS UNCOVERING THE MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES OF YOUNG BRITISH MUSLIMS Partners: June 2021 HIDDEN SURVIVORS UNCOVERING THE MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES OF YOUNG BRITISH MUSLIMS SHENAZ BUNGLAWALA | ARDIANA MEHA | PROFESSOR ANETA D. TUNARIU MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING OF YOUNG MUSLIMS IN THE UK Contents About BCBN................................................................................................................................... 1 Foreword....................................................................................................................................... 2 Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP Professor Jim McManus, Vice-President, Association of Directors of Public Health Director of Public Health for Hertfordshire Sabah Gilani OBE, Chief Executive, Better Community Business Network Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 7 Executive summary ................................................................................................................... 9 Background to this report ........................................................................................................ 12 Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 14 Mental health in a pandemic .................................................................................................... 16 No health without mental health ............................................................................................ 27 Mental health among children and young people ................................................................ 31 Young British Muslims ............................................................................................................... 37 Faith and cultural sensitivity in mental health services .................................................... 47 Young Muslims and mental health .......................................................................................... 50 Experience of mental health struggles .................................................................................. 58 ‘Trigger’ factors ......................................................................................................................... 64 Counselling and therapy .......................................................................................................... 65 What is mental wellbeing? ....................................................................................................... 68 How do you define mental wellbeing? .................................................................................... 73 How do you define mental health struggles? ........................................................................ 77 Faith & faith/culturally-sensitive mental health services .................................................. 83 Would you prefer to see a Muslim counsellor/ therapist? .................................................. 84 Is it important to you for mental health services to be culturally/faith sensitive? ....... 89 When you experience mental health struggles, how likely are you to turn to your 94 faith? ............................................................................................................................................. Can you share an example of when your faith has helped you with a mental health 99 struggle? ....................................................................................................................................... Can you share an example of when your faith hasn’t helped you with a mental 104 health struggle? .......................................................................................................................... Conclusion and recommendations ......................................................................................... 111 Expert commentaries: ‘Social prescribing and mental health’ - Professor Rachel Tribe and Professor Aneta 116 Tunariu ................................................................................................................................... ‘A Public Health perspective’ - Nuzhat Ali .......................................................................... 117 ‘How universities can help promote good mental health for Muslim students’ - Simon 118 Blake OBE ............................................................................................................................. ‘Young people give me hope’ - Poppy Jaman OBE ............................................................ 120 ‘Securitising mental health, racialising Muslim bodies’ - Dr Tarek Younis ...................... 122 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 124 About BCBN The Better Community Business Network (BCBN) is a Muslim-led grant-giving organisation set up by a group of business people and professionals who have come together to support local community projects that make a real difference to the communities they serve. BCBN seeks to identify and address socially challenging causes, acting as a conduit between businesses, grant-makers, charitable trusts and foundations to serve communities and create a positive change. BCBN avoids duplication and carefully partners with credible organisations in creating and delivering bespoke, specialist and focussed charitable programmes to increase service delivery to hard-to-reach communities. We commission research for a more targeted and effective, evidence-based approach to the projects we support long-term. Since its inception, BCBN has raised over £1.3million in funds for community causes and has attracted support from respected figures such as HRH The Prince of Wales; Former Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon Nick Clegg; Former Justice Secretary, Rt Hon Chris Grayling; and Mayor of London, Rt Hon. Sadiq Khan amongst others. For more information, visit bcbn.org.uk 1 Foreword I would first like to thank the Better Community Business Network for putting together this important report and to everyone who has supported and contributed to its research and development. Even before the pandemic, there was a crisis facing our young people’s mental health and it is undeniable that they have also suffered immensely throughout. Deprived of so many of the opportunities and experiences that guide each young person into adulthood, it is vital that we put their mental health and wellbeing at the heart of policy making and our coronavirus recovery plan. Providing a vital insight into the experiences of young Muslims who have access to mental health services, this report reminds us that anyone - regardless of background - can suffer with their mental health and there is no, one size fits all, approach to support. Nevertheless, as this report emphasises, as a society, we have to understand the role played by cultural context and intersecting identities - including religion - when understanding and working to support those struggling. As a Muslim woman, it is gratifying to read this report and learn that 59% of respondents say faith plays a positive role in supporting their mental health and wellbeing. However, as highlighted in the report, it is important to recognise that faith can also act as a risk factor both from self-induced feelings of guilt and shame for seeking help and external factors such as Islamophobia and institutional racism potentially aggravating the mental health challenges faced by young Muslims. As a doctor, I agree with the 61% of respondents who said that it is important that mental health services display cultural and faith sensitivity. Indeed, faith is a protected characteristic and sensitivity is vital across the health and social care sector to ensure that young people feel heard and understood when seeking help and support. As stated in the report “diversity is about more than meeting equality targets, it is about placing the needs of service users at the heart of service commissioning, development and delivery”. The 17 recommendations made in this report underline the key steps we need to take to ensure that young Muslims struggling with their mental health are not hidden survivors, but supported service users. Moving forward, there needs to be a more sophisticated and honest discourse around the role and impact of faith when seeking to support young Muslims, not just in the health and social care sector, but also within our universities and -most importantly - our Muslim communities. Crucially, as part of reforms to the Mental Health Act and the development of a Patient and Carers Race Equality Standard, the Government needs to take due consideration of religion to ensure that services are equipped to deliver an outstanding quality of culturally appropriate care to Britain’s diverse population. Rt Hon. Dr Rosena Allin-Khan MP 2 Foreword I was affected deeply by reading this report. Among my reactions was shock at the mental health needs faced by young British Muslims and the barriers to them accessing support; deep sadness at the impact of Covid-19 on these our fellow citizens, and determination that we must do something about it. At the same time I felt that this report presents us with an opportunity to shape