TPC Journal-Vol 9- Issue 4-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 9, Issue 4 393 individual interviews rather than paper-and-pencil surveys to get an in-depth look at how those in rural areas define mental health. Also, future research could seek to further understand the concept of well- being as used by rural participants, looking more in depth at all components (cognition, emotion, and behavior). Future research studies could also investigate the reasons for a focus on cognitive aspects of mental health. As it is impossible to separate cognition from emotion and behavior, this study found that many participants seemed to focus on cognition rather than a more comprehensive understanding of cognition as it related to choices in behaviors and affect. The current study took place in a medical center, and participants who were approached to participate may have felt pressure to complete the survey or answer in a way that was socially desirable. The sample was a convenience sample and may not be representative of others in the rural Southeast. Large scale quantitative studies might offer scholars interested in MHL the opportunity to use validated instruments to measure literacy and perceptions about mental health in rural samples. Assessments such as the Mental Health Knowledge Schedule (Evans-Lacko et al., 2010) have been used in recent research (Crowe et al., 2018) to measure mental health knowledge. The Revised Fit, Stigma, & Value Scale (Kalkbrenner & Neukrug, 2018) is another scale measuring barriers to counseling such as stigma, values, and personal fit. These types of assessments can measure levels of recognition, familiarity, and attitudes toward mental health conditions in order to measure MHL and perceptions of mental health stigma. Conclusion This qualitative study investigated the HHS definition of mental health to determine if it was representative of rural Southeastern participants’ definitions. This assisted with answering the call for more research on the mental health of rural residents (Simmons, Yang, Wu, Bush, & Crofford, 2015) in order to provide better services to this population. Most participants demonstrated a conceptualization that included cognition, as well as well-being, and were more concrete in their conceptualization of mental health when compared to the more comprehensive HHS definition. A promising result from this study was that many participants seemed willing to seek mental health treatment in the future. Rural communities could benefit from mental health education with a holistic approach. Future research should consider interviewing rural populations to gather more detail on their definitions and understanding of mental health. The results provided interventions for professional counselors and related mental health clinicians, particularly those in rural settings, to integrate into their present work, pointed to the need for educational campaigns on mental health in rural areas, and highlighted areas for future research exploration. Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure The authors reported no conflict of interest or funding contributions for the development of this manuscript. References Alang, S. M. (2015). Sociodemographic disparities associated with perceived causes of unmet need for mental health care. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal , 38 , 293–299. doi:10.1037/prj0000113