While there is increasing political interest in research and policy-making for global mental health, there remain major gaps in the education of students in health fields for understanding the complexities of diverse mental health conditions. Drawing on the experience of many well-known experts in this area, this book uses engaging narratives to illustrate that mental illnesses are not only problems experienced by individuals but must also be understood and treated at the social and cultural levels. The book • includes discussion of traditional versus biomedical beliefs about mental illness, the role of culture in mental illness, intersections between religion and mental health, intersections of mind and body, and access to health care; • is ideal for courses on global mental health in psychology, public health, and anthropology departments and other health-related programs. Reviews: "This outstanding collection of studies shows the vigor and promise of anthropological approaches for advancing global mental health. The editors have assembled a new generation of scholars who address the social structural origins of mental health problems and novel treatment approaches to improving access to culturally appropriate care. Special attention is given to the dominant strategy of task-shifting as well as to alternative models of care that incorporate indigenous concepts of distress and healing practices. The book is truly global in scope—touching on issues distinctive to urban and rural, wealthy and low income settings." - Laurence J. Kirmayer, McGill University "This book is truly global in its focus on both high- and low-income countries’ mental health services, thus addressing issues that affect all health systems. The contributions range from psychiatric residents in Boston and peer providers in Chicago to nurses in Liberia and community health workers in Haiti. Through the narratives of patients and health-care providers, the chapters taken together demonstrate a range of barriers to accessing care." - From the foreword by Vikram Patel "At BasicNeeds we run programmes for mentally ill people in 12 low income countries and the challenges we face daily are uncannily similar to those described in this powerful book. We identify people who need support, who struggle for treatment and who in the end contribute productively to their homes and community. None of this would be possible without a deep respect for the diverse cultures we work in and this book perfectly balances these imperatives of working with a community based approach and culture. Deeply sensitive, insightful and practical." - Chris Underhill MBE, founder and President, BasicNeeds Contents: Foreword, Vikram Patel Introduction Chapter 1: Historical Background: Medical Anthropology and Global Mental Health, Brandon Kohrt, Emily Mendenhall, and Peter J. Brown Chapter 2: Anthropological Methods in Global Mental Health Research, Emily Mendenhall and Brandon Kohrt Part I: Social and Structural Origins of Mental Illness in Global Context Introduction, Brandon Kohrt and Emily Mendenhall Chapter 3: Why Water Security is Fundamental to Global Mental Health, Amber Wutich, Alexandra Brewis, Jose B. Rosales Chavez, Charu L. Jaiswal Chapter 4: Mental health, Temporality and Urban Displacement for Iraqi Refugees, Nadia El-Shaarawi Chapter 5: Khat Consumption, Time, and Mental Well-being among Unemployed Young Men in Jimma, Ethiopia, Daniel Mains Chapter 6: Surviving Sexual Violence for Schooling, Eileen Anderson-Fye Chapter 7: Grandmothers, Children, and Intergenerational Distress in Nicaraguan Transnational Families, Kristin Yarris Chapter 8: Addiction in Colombia, Daniel H. Lende and Sarah Fishleder Part II: Treatment Approaches and Access to Care in Low and High Resource Settings Introduction, Brandon Kohrt, Emily Mendenhall, and Peter J. Brown Chapter 9: Perceived Discrimination and Mental Health of Haitian Migrants in the Dominican Republic, Hunter Keys Chapter 10: Religion and the Mental Health Resilience of Indigenous Indian “Wildlife Refugees,” Jeffrey Snodgrass Chapter 11: Post-Socialist Romania in the Age of Globalizing Psychiatry, Jack Friedman Chapter 12: Poverty, Depression, and Diabetes among Mexican Immigrants in the United States, Emily Mendenhall Chapter 13: Women Combat Veterans and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in the U.S., Erin P. Finley Chapter 14: Reflections on a Mandatory Course for Psychiatry Residents, Sarah S. Willen and Anne Kohler Part III: Task-Sharing, Peer Providers, and Alternative Care Models: Successes and Challenges Introduction, Brandon Kohrt and Emily Mendenhall Chapter 15: Anthropology and the Experience Gap, Brandon A. Kohrt with Reverend Bill Jallah Chapter 16: An Apprenticeship Approach to Treating Local Distress in Haiti, Bonnie N. Kaiser and Kristen E. McLean Chapter 17: Mental Health Implications for Community Health Workers and Volunteers, Kenneth Maes Chapter 18: “We Can’t Find This Spirit of Help": Mental Health, Social Issues, and Community Home-Based Care Providers in Central Mozambique, Ippolytos Kalofonos Chapter 19: Shared Humanity among Non-specialist Peer Care Providers for Persons Living with Psychosis: Implications for Global Mental Health, Neely Myers Conclusion: A Roadmap for Anthropology and Global Mental Health, Brandon Kohrt, Emily Mendenhall, and Peter J. Brown Notes References Index About the Authors About the Editors: Brandon A. Kohrt is a medical anthropologist and psychiatrist. He is Assistant Professor of Global Health and Psychiatry at Duke University. He conducts global mental health research focusing on populations affected by war-related trauma and chronic stressors of poverty, discrimination, and lack of access to healthcare and education. He has worked in Nepal for 16 years using a biocultural developmental perspective integrating epidemiology, cultural anthropology, ethnopsychology, and neuroendocrinology. With Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO) Nepal, he designed and evaluated psychosocial reintegration packages for child soldiers in Nepal. He currently works with The Carter Center Mental Health Liberia Program developing anti-stigma campaigns and family psychoeducation programs. He was a Laughlin Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists and a John Spiegel Fellow of the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture (SSPC). Kohrt has contributed to numerous documentary films including Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal’s Maoist Army. Emily Mendenhall is an assistant professor of global health in the Science, Technology, and International Affairs (STIA) Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. She has conducted cross-cultural research on the syndemics of poverty, depression, and diabetes among vulnerable populations in urban India, Kenya, South Africa, and United States. She published this research as a book titled Syndemic Suffering: Social Distress, Depression, and Diabetes among Mexican Immigrant Women, and she has published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Social Science & Medicine, Culture, Medicine & Psychiatry, Medical Anthropology, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, PLoS One, and Global Health Action. Her most recent research examines the convergence of multiple social and health problems among those seeking medical care at a public hospital clinic buttressing the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya. She also leads a non-profit organization that develops books on global health inequality.
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