ABSTRACT
Arabs have been identified as an underrepresented population when considering utilization of traditional mental health treatment and social services in the West (Al-Krenawi, 2002; Youssef & Deane, 2006). Underutilization of such services in this population can be explained by a confluence of factors, including culturally entrenched stigma associated with mental illness, as well as immigrationand acculturation-related factors, to name a few (Erickson & Al-Timimi 2001; Nassar-McMillan & Hakim-Larson, 2003). Though these barriers to service utilization are well documented in the literature, there is a paucity of existing literature examining what factors do in fact promote service utilization for this group. In light of these issues, there is a growing need not only to understand the service barriers more clearly, but also, more importantly, to examine the alternative of ethnic-specific community-based programs. A review of existing community-based programs can give an insight into the services they provide and, potentially, the ways in which they have overcome the traditional service challenges to deliver culturally competent mental health and social services to Arab Americans.
