Culture and mental health

Allen, S; Sharples, N

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the following issues: concepts of normality and abnormality, transcultural psychiatry; culture-bound syndromes; cultural competency skills for mental health practitioners; culture in care and treatment; intercultural communication; working with interpreters in mental health settings; and racism and intercultural communication. It includes a case study to explore the skills that are necessary for caring for a person from another culture who has mental health problems. The concept of normality is based on a shared set of beliefs and values that dictate certain codes of behaviour. The discipline of psychiatry developed in parallel with European colonialism and the seventeenth and eighteenth century transatlantic slave trade, when myths about race and ethnicity were common throughout European society. In mental health care, most attention has focused on the elevated rates of schizophrenia diagnosed in Caribbean populations. Intercultural communication must be undertaken with the understanding that the rules that govern languages change between languages.

Citation

Allen, S., & Sharples, N. (2018). Culture and mental health. In K. Holland (Ed.), Cultural Awareness in Nursing & Health Care : an introductory text (3rd edition) (165-190). New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315381992

• Online Publication Date: Jul 26, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2021
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 165-190
• Book Title: Cultural Awareness in Nursing & Health Care : an introductory text (3rd edition)
• ISBN: 9781482245578-(paperback);-9781138627192-(hardback);-9781315381992-(ebook)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315381992
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315381992
• Related Public URLs: https://www.routledge.com/Cultural-Awareness-in-Nursing-and-Health-Care-An-Introductory-Text/Holland/p/book/9781482245578