scholarly journals Challenges of Teaching Clinically Applied Anthropology and Cultural Psychiatry in India: An Evolving Partnership between a UK University and an Indian NGO

Journal ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Derges ◽  
Sumeet Jain ◽  
Roland Littlewood ◽  
Vandana Gopikumar ◽  
Mirjam Dijkxhoorn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Research Unit ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Social Science Theory ◽  
Science Theory ◽  
Related Stigma ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Uk

The current emphasis on Global Mental Health risks losing the focus on the local and the particular and rendering anthropological insight pertinent. A more critical examination of pedagogical methods and curricula, and of the challenges of establishing collaborative, balanced partnerships is required. Since 2006, a group of clinical anthropologists1 based at UCL and members of The Banyan2, have been working together on an innovative series of short, annual courses on social science theory and methods applied to mental health in South Asia. A UCL/BALM3 research unit was also established in 2008 employing local researchers to conduct joint studies into mental health and its related stigma in the Indian context. Following a brief history and outline of the collaboration, this paper discusses specific challenges: institutional issues and local economics; history and power dynamics; teaching versus training; working within mixed disciplinary and �cultural� domains both in the UK and India; and the spatial and temporal challenges of supervising research across continents. The paper concludes by reflecting on the contribution this collaboration has made to knowledge flow, examining localised and culturally specific understandings of pedagogy. These insights offer potential for similar international organisations seeking to establish inclusive and effective partnerships between frequently disparate contexts.

scholarly journals Sustaining international careers: a peer group for psychiatrists working in global mental health

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
pp. 5-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Eaton ◽  
Nick Bouras ◽  
Lynne Jones ◽  
Charlotte Hanlon ◽  
Rob Stewart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
National Health ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Professional Life ◽  
Academic Fields ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Work Abroad

Regular appraisal and revalidation are now a routine part of professional life for doctors in the UK. For British-trained psychiatrists working abroad (in either development/humanitarian or academic fields) this is a cause of insecurity, as most of the processes of revalidation are tailored to those working in the standard structures of the National Health Service. This article explores the degree to which a peer group for psychiatrists working abroad has achieved its aim of helping its members to fulfil their revalidation requirements. It gives recommendations for how those considering work abroad can maximise their chances of remaining recognised under the revalidation system.

scholarly journals Problem-based, peer-to-peer global mental health e-learning between the UK and Somaliland: a pilot study

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Murphy ◽  
Elliot Clissold ◽  
Roxanne C Keynejad
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Peer To Peer ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Uk

The double hazard in recovery journey: The experiences of UK Chinese users of mental health services

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn Tang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Service Improvement ◽  
Personal Recovery ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Related Stigma ◽  
The Uk

Background: The recent interest in recovery from mental health problems has not meaningfully addressed the perspectives of ethnic minorities. Aim: To contribute to the discussion of recovery-oriented service with a study on the experience of Chinese people using UK mental health services. Methods: In-depth life history interviews were carried out with the users. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four themes emerged as hindrances to personal recovery: (1) language difficulty creates hurdles, (2) diagnostic label is experienced as a double-edged sword, (3) treatment-related stigma and (dis)empowerment are identified, and (4) grievances are found in hospitalisation. Discussion: Having mental illness and being an ethnic minority in the UK experienced double hazard in their recovery journey. While the deprivation of agency and the stigma process in the health care system hinders their recovery, they are further disadvantaged by their ethnic minority status. Four pointers for service improvement, that apply to Chinese users in the United Kingdom and have general implications for users beyond this group, are proposed.

scholarly journals Working together

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Gask ◽  
Helen Lester
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Considerable Evidence ◽  
New Ways Of Working ◽  
What Works ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Uk

From the standpoint of primary care, mental health services in the UK now appear very fragmented. We have to address the problems of working across interfaces as they continue to multiply. There is now a considerable evidence base relating to what works at the interface between psychiatry and primary care. Psychiatrists should consider the challenge of adopting new ways of working in the management of anxiety and depression in partnership with primary care.

A pioneer of psy: The first Ugandan psychiatric nurse and her (different) tale of psychiatry in Uganda

2020 ◽  
pp. 136346152090164
Author(s):  
Julia Vorhölter
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Life Story ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Nurse ◽  
Therapeutic Landscapes ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
Medical Histories ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Uk ◽  
External Actors

In Africa, the emergence of a “modern” mental health regime centered on psychiatry is often portrayed as a unidirectional intervention by “the West.” Analyses ranging from medical histories of colonial psychiatry to more recent studies of Global Mental Health focus mostly on the role of external actors and the ways their actions impact(ed) on local populations. Uncritical studies simply reduce the complexity of African therapeutic landscapes to a “treatment gap” and see the introduction of “science-based” mental health approaches as necessary “civilizing” missions. Critical studies emphasize the harms of psychiatric interventions and celebrate local healing practices instead. Both approaches are problematic: they ignore the many interconnections between highly dynamic treatment regimes that cannot be neatly designated as African or western, portray local populations as largely passive, and neglect the multiple ways in which psychiatry has been embraced, adapted, and disrupted by Africans themselves. This article challenges simplistic depictions of “western” psychiatry in Africa by providing a portrait of Rwashana Selina, the first Ugandan psychiatric nurse who—after being sent to the UK in the 1950s for training—became a central figure in Ugandan psychiatry. Based on interview material, I recount her life story and discuss her formative role in the development of psychiatric care in the colonial and postcolonial era. Rwashana's tale of Ugandan psychiatry emphasizes co-operation, mutual acknowledgments and pluralistic leadership and thus breaks with typical images of and dichotomies between white doctors and supposedly inferior African medical staff.

scholarly journals Understanding Supporting and Hindering Factors in Community-Based Psychotherapy for Refugees: A Realist-Informed Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (13) ◽  
pp. 4618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Gruner ◽  
Olivia Magwood ◽  
Lissa Bair ◽  
Liezl Duff ◽  
Shiva Adel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Cultural Constructs ◽  
Related Stigma ◽  
Health Related ◽  
And Gender

Culture, tradition, structural violence, and mental health-related stigma play a major role in global mental health for refugees. Our aim was to understand what factors determine the success or failure of community-based psychotherapy for trauma-affected refugees and discuss implications for primary health care programs. Using a systematic realist-informed approach, we searched five databases from 2000 to 2018. Two reviewers independently selected RCTs for inclusion, and we contacted authors to obtain therapy training manuals. Fifteen articles and 11 training manuals met our inclusion criteria. Factors that improved symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD included providing culturally adapted care in a migrant-sensitive setting, giving a role to other clinical staff (task-shifting), and intervention intensity. Precarious asylum status, constraining program monitoring requirements, and diverse socio-cultural and gender needs within a setting may reduce the effectiveness of the program. Primary care programs may enable community based mental health care and may reduce mental health-related stigma for refugees and other migrants. More research is needed on the cultural constructs of distress, programs delivered in primary care, and the role of cultural and language interpretation services in mental health care.

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