scholarly journals Primum non nocere. The case for a critical approach to global mental health

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 506-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Bracken ◽  
J. Giller ◽  
D. Summerfield
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
The Self ◽  
Western World ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Moral Imperative ◽  
The World ◽  
Moral Case ◽  
Health And Healing

The Movement for Global Mental Health (MGMH) argues that there is a moral imperative that psychiatric treatments should be made available to all communities across the world. But psychiatric theories, categories and interventions emerged in the Western world are based on a set of assumptions about the nature of the self and society, nature and the supernatural, health and healing that are not universally accepted. In this paper we argue that there is a stronger moral case for caution with regard to the export of psychiatric thinking. Without a critical interrogation of such thinking the MGMH is at risk of doing a great deal of harm to the diverse, and sometimes fragile, systems of care that already exist across the world.

The moral case for global mental health delivery

The Lancet ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 395 (10218) ◽  
pp. 108-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikram Patel ◽  
Paul E Farmer
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Health Delivery ◽  
Moral Case

A Fallacy of the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme and Intervention Guide: Counseling and Psychotherapy Are Also (Western) Indigenous/Traditional Healing Methods

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Robinder P. Bedi ◽  
Mohit Bassi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Western Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Gap ◽  
Cultural Healing ◽  
Action Programme

This article will argue that, rather than being objective and universal treatment appro-aches, counseling and psychotherapy are indigenous/traditional (i.e., cultural) healing methods of the Euro-American West. Therefore, the World Health Organization's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (MHGAP), designed to provide increased access to reportedly highly effective Western mental health treatment services in many low- and middle-income countries, is likely to falter. It can be argued that culturally adapted counseling and psychotherapy will be most effective for individuals in non-Western countries who endorse or are somewhat acculturated to Western understandings and ways of living. Therefore, Western psychological interventions should not be at the forefront of the MHGAP in non-Western countries. Supportive evidence for this perspective is summarized and alternative approaches to promoting global mental health that draw on non-Western indigenous healing practices are presented.

scholarly journals Protecting Rights and Building Capacities: Challenges to Global Mental Health Policy in Light of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila Wildeman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
International Development ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Disabled Persons ◽  
World Health ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization (WHO) has in the last decade identified mental health as a priority for global health promotion and international development, to be targeted through promulgation of evidence-based medical practices, health systems reform, and respect for human rights. Yet these overlapping strategies are marked by tensions as the historical primacy of expert-led initiatives is increasingly subject to challenge by new social movements — in particular, disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs). These tensions come into focus upon situating the WHO’s contributions to the analysis of global mental health in light of the negotiation and early stages of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), particularly as it applies to persons with mental disabilities.

scholarly journals World Mental Health Day

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Meghamala. S. Tavaragi ◽  
Mrs. Sushma.C ◽  
Dr. Susheelkumar V. Ronad
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Behavioral Health ◽  
Mental Hygiene ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Health Clinic ◽  
World Mental Health ◽  
The World

World Mental Health Day (10 October) is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. This day, each October thousands of supporters come to celebrate this annual awareness program to bring attention to Mental Illness and its major effects on peoples’ life worldwide. In some countries this day is part of the larger Mental Illness Awareness Week. Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of a mental disorder it is the “psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment”. The definition of mental health highlights emotional well-being, the capacity to live a full and creative life, and the flexibility to deal with life’s inevitable challenges. A person struggling with his or her behavioral health may face stress, depression, anxiety, relationship problems, grief, addiction, ADHD or learning disabilities, mood disorders, or other psychological concerns. Counselors, therapists, life coaches, psychologists, nurse practitioners or physicians can help manage behavioral health concerns with treatments such as therapy, counseling, or medication. At the beginning of the 20th century, Clifford Beers founded the National Committee for Mental Hygiene and opened the first outpatient mental health clinic in the United States of America. The mental hygiene movement, related to the social hygiene movement, had at times been associated with advocating eugenics and sterilization of those considered too mentally deficient to be assisted into productive work and contented family life. Global mental health is the international perspective on different aspects of mental health. The overall aim of the field of global mental health is to strengthen mental health all over the world by providing information about the mental health situation in all countries, and identifying mental health care needs in order to develop cost-effective interventions to meet those specific needs.

scholarly journals O CÂNONE CRÍTICO-POÉTICO DE MANOEL DE BARROS

Organon ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (30-31) ◽  
Author(s):  
Goiandira Ortiz De Camargo
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Literary Canon ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Literary Creation ◽  
The World ◽  
Ofthe Word

This study aims to examine the critical-poetic literary canon in Manoelde Barros. The self-reflexivity in Barros’ poetry forms a creative consciousness whicharticulates literary creation and critical invention in the poetic space. In Manoel deBarros’s works, the poems question the crisis of the word and the compositionalprocess which giving form to intentions presented in the author’s essays allows us todepict the poet’s aesthetic project. The choice of a universe of ordinary things, thepreference for that which despised by society, the feeling of fragmentation, the searchof an Adamic word, which denotates a lost language – all this are some of the recurrentmotives that are interwoven to the liric voice of Barros’s poetry. Departing from areshaping of the poetic canon that can be obtained by mean of a critical approach topoetry, we will examine the “critical metaphor” – the precarious condition in whichthe insertion of poetry in the world as metaphor inaugurates the space of criticism ofthe word as well as the criticism of mechanisms used for representation of reality.

scholarly journals The Movement for Global Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Pharmaceutical Drugs ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
South And Southeast Asia ◽  
The World

In this volume, prominent anthropologists, public health physicians, and psychiatrists respond sympathetically but critically to the Movement for Global Mental Health (MGMH), which seeks to export psychiatry throughout the world. They question some of its fundamental assumptions: the idea that "mental disorders" can clearly be identified; that they are primarily of biological origin; that the world is currently facing an "epidemic" of them; that the most appropriate treatments for them normally involve psycho-pharmaceutical drugs; and that local or indigenous therapies are of little interest or importance for treating them. Instead, the contributors argue that labeling mental suffering as "illness" or "disorder" is often highly problematic; that the countries of South and Southeast Asia have abundant, though non- psychiatric, resources for dealing with it; that its causes are often social and biographical; and that many non-pharmacological therapies are effective for dealing with it. In short, they advocate a thoroughgoing mental health pluralism.

Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Dimension of Health: A Sensitive Issue to be Addressed at the Earliest

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 158-166
Author(s):  
Sunil Nepal ◽  
Sudip Nepal ◽  
Chakrakodi S. Shastry ◽  
Sharad Chand ◽  
U.P. Nandakumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
High Stress ◽  
World Health ◽  
Frontline Workers ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Background: The novel coronavirus disease outbreak of 2019 was declared as a public health emergency by the World Health Organization. At present, the virus has spread throughout the world, leading to millions of cases and is further increasing. Objective: The main objective of this study is to review the impact of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the mental health of frontline workers, isolated and quarantined people and the general population. Methods: The relevant articles were extracted from PubMed, Web of Science and ScienceDirect database by using the keywords “Mental health”, “COVID-19”, “Impact of COVID-19”, “Frontline workers”, “Quarantine”, “Isolation”, “Immunity” and “Economy”. The retrieved articles were included in the study based on inclusion criteria to perform the review. All the selected scientific articles were critically reviewed and the information is summarized in this narrative review. Results: The majority of the studies stated that frontline health workers were at an increased risk of depression. The infected, suspects and quarantined people were reported with high stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts. The pandemic has devastated the world’s economy, which has severely impacted global mental health. Conclusion: Mental health should be taken into account, and necessary interventional initiatives need to be considered both by the health authorities and the government to minimize the adversity of the consequences. The pandemic may disappear with the discovery of new vaccines or medications, but its negative impact on mental health may persist, particularly among vulnerable populations. Thus, mental health must be a matter of concern in the present scenario.

scholarly journals Global Mental Health: sharing and synthesizing knowledge for sustainable development

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. O'Donnell ◽  
M. Lewis O'Donnell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Global Integration ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Growing Domain ◽  
The World ◽  
Relevant Context

Global mental health (GMH) is a growing domain with an increasing capacity to positively impact the world community's efforts for sustainable development and wellbeing. Sharing and synthesizing GMH and multi-sectoral knowledge, the focus of this paper, is an important way to support these global efforts. This paper consolidates some of the most recent and relevant ‘context resources’ [global multi-sector (GMS) materials, emphasizing world reports on major issues] and ‘core resources’ (GMH materials, including newsletters, texts, conferences, training, etc.). In addition to offering a guided index of materials, it presents an orientation framework (global integration) to help make important information as accessible and useful as possible. Mental health colleagues are encouraged to stay current in GMH and global issues, to engage in the emerging agendas for sustainable development and wellbeing, and to intentionally connect and contribute across sectors. Colleagues in all sectors are encouraged to do likewise, and to take advantage of the wealth of shared and synthesized knowledge in the GMH domain, such as the materials featured in this paper.

scholarly journals Radical Hope or the Moral Imperative of Images in the Work of Susan Sontag Jean-Luc Godard

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idit Alphandary
Keyword(s):  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
The Self ◽  
Moral Imperative ◽  
Susan Sontag ◽  
Life Challenges ◽  
The World ◽  
The Gift ◽  
New Form ◽  
To Come ◽  
The One

In the films For Ever Mozart, In Praise of Love and I Salute You Sarajevo, Go-dard’s images introduce radical hope to the world. I will demonstrate that this hope represents an ethical posture in the world; it is identical to goodness. Radical hope is grounded in the victim’s witnessing, internalizing and remembering catastrophe, while at the same time holding onto the belief that a variation of the self will survive the disaster. In The Gift of Death, Jacques Derrida argues that choosing to belong to the disaster is equivalent to giving the pure gift, or to goodness itself, and that it suggests a new form of responsibility for one’s life, as well as a new form of death. For Derrida, internalizing catastrophe is identical to death—a death that surpasses one’s means of giving. Such death can be reciprocated only by reinstating goodness or the law in the victim’s or the giver’s existence. The relation of survival to the gift of death—also a gift of life—challenges us to rethink our understanding of the act of witnessing. This relation also adds nuance to our appreciation of the intellectual, emotional and mental affects of the survival of the victim and the testimony and silence of the witness, all of which are important in my analysis of radical hope. On the one hand, the (future) testimony of the witness inhabits the victim or the ravaged self (now), on the other hand, testimony is not contemporaneous with the shattered ego. This means that testimony is anterior to the self or that the self that survives the disaster has yet to come into existence through making testimony material. Testimony thus exists before and beyond disaster merely as an ethical posture—a “putting-oneself-to-death or offering-one’s-death, that is, one’s life, in the ethical dimension of sacrifice,” in the words of Derrida. The witness is identical to the victim whose survival will include an unknown, surprising testimony or an event of witnessing. The testimony discloses the birth or revelation of a new self. And yet this new self survives through assuming the position of the witness even while s/he is purely the victim of catastrophe, being put to death owning the “kiss of death.”

Global cultures as a consequence of globalization of mental health

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Driss Moussaoui ◽  
Vishal Bhavsar ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The World ◽  
Population Mental Health ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Health Agenda ◽  
Critical Interest

Globalization is a term used widely to describe ‘homogenization’ of the world and various cultures. Although it is to do with trade, with an impact on resources, manufacture, and consumption, its impact is often seen on economics, development, international relations, and health. However, its effect on individual and population mental health across cultures deserves detailed study. The term means different things to different people and is often misused and misinterpreted in a number of ways. The geopolitical impact of globalization on social determinants of mental health of individuals and populations is of particular interest, especially because globalization affects migration and consequent changes in well-being. Cultures vary and have various dimensions, which change in response to globalization. The challenges in the global mental health agenda are of critical interest to policymakers and service planners. Often, mental health is regarded as separate from aspects of physical health and well-being, thereby creating specific problems. In the context of globalization and resulting migration, we propose a conceptual model to understand the effects of globalization on mental health and identify some action points for future research and policy-making.

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