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BackgroundCommunities hold different opinions toward mentally ill people and treat them negatively, irrespective of their behavior. Differences in beliefs can impact not only affected individuals but the entire network and opportunities. This study aimed to examine beliefs about mental illness among different populations of the Saudi community. MethodologyThis descriptive study was conducted among 840 participants from several groups (different family roles, professions, medical and non-medical students, educated and uneducated, etc.) aged 18-75 years in Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Information regarding participants' demographics and beliefs toward mental illness was collected through validated measures. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). ResultsData analysis showed that individuals over the age of 30 years believed that mental illness is socially dysfunctional, incurable, and a subject of embarrassment. Married couples also considered mental illness to be socially dysfunctional and a subject of embarrassment. Similarly, unemployed participants had more negative views of mental illness than working individuals and students. Furthermore, educators and other professionals believed that mental illness is more socially dysfunctional than healthcare providers. In addition, community groups with a history of mental illness stated that mental illness is incurable. In the family context, grandparents' beliefs toward mental illness were more negative than other family members' views. ConclusionsThis study highlights the diversity in beliefs about mental illness among different groups of Arab society. The influence of poor knowledge, religious beliefs, and subjective attitudes should be explored further, and anti-stigma interventions should be implemented to increase community awareness about mental illness.

The significant role and contributions of counselling is now well recognized in remedial and preventive areas. Different models of healing and human functioning has appreciated the incredible efforts of counselling in the relevant fields. Medical setting has always been promoted by counselling, where counselling has proved its exertions through vital contributions in primary care to deal with various issues and problems towards patient perception, diagnosis, treatment and care. The health awareness, prevention and developmental issues are also covered by counselling in medical care. The contributions of counselling to medical care are enormous. This paper explores the integrity of counselling in medical setting along with the issues of patients perception.

Background: Globally, social networking sites are substantially used for indulgence, content, and interaction. Despite this, the worst impact of prolonged use of social networking sites has been associated with physical, mental, and long-term well-being. Its impact on medical students is a significant concern for many medical schools and administrators as users differ in purpose, preferences, and perceived usefulness. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the association of social networking sites’ preferences and motives with medical students’ mental well-being and academic performance. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted on 167 medical students of King Faisal University for three months, from October 2020 to December 2020. Participant’s information related to demographics, usage of social networking sites, mental well-being, and academic grades were collected through online questionnaires with valid measures. Results: Data analyses were performed using SPSS version 21. Almost all medical students were browsing social networking sites daily (98.2%). The most frequently visited sites were WhatsApp (97.6%), followed by YouTube (86.8%), and Instagram (77.8%). It was revealed that 3rd-year students were significantly using Facebook, mainly for fun. Besides, significantly better mental well-being was reported among females’ incentives to use social networking sites to keep in touch with family, friends, and relatives. It was also found that females were significantly more of being Instagram users and Snapchat users than males and observed significantly more having excellent academic grades than males. Conclusions: Our study suggests that students were motivated to connect with social networking sites for their various preferences or needs influenced by their beliefs, attitude, and plans.