Navigating diagnoses: Understanding mind–body relations, mental health, and stigma in Nepal

@article{citeulike:3296514, abstract = {Abstract  Anthropologists and psychiatrists traditionally have used the salience of a mind–body dichotomy to distinguish Western from non-Western ethnopsychologies. However, despite claims of mind–body holism in non-Western cultures, mind–body divisions are prominent in non-Western groups. In this article, we discuss three issues: the ethnopsychology of mind–body dichotomies in Nepal, the relationship between mind–body dichotomies and the hierarchy of resort in a medical pluralistic context, and, finally, the role of mind–body dichotomies in public health interventions (biomedical and psychosocial) aimed toward decreasing the stigmatization of mental illness. We assert that, by understanding mind–body relations in non-Western settings, their implications, and ways in which to reconstitute these relations in a less stigmatizing manner, medical anthropologists and mental health workers can contribute to the reduction of stigma in global mental health care.}, author = {Kohrt, Brandon and Harper, Ian}, citeulike-article-id = {3296514}, doi = {10.1007/s11013-008-9110-6}, journal = {Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry}, keywords = {ethnomedicine, global-health, mentalhealth, stigma}, posted-at = {2008-09-20 05:42:50}, priority = {3}, title = {Navigating diagnoses: Understanding mind–body relations, mental health, and stigma in Nepal}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-008-9110-6} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3296514 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3296514 N2 - Abstract  Anthropologists and psychiatrists traditionally have used the salience of a mind–body dichotomy to distinguish Western from non-Western ethnopsychologies. However, despite claims of mind–body holism in non-Western cultures, mind–body divisions are prominent in non-Western groups. In this article, we discuss three issues: the ethnopsychology of mind–body dichotomies in Nepal, the relationship between mind–body dichotomies and the hierarchy of resort in a medical pluralistic context, and, finally, the role of mind–body dichotomies in public health interventions (biomedical and psychosocial) aimed toward decreasing the stigmatization of mental illness. We assert that, by understanding mind–body relations in non-Western settings, their implications, and ways in which to reconstitute these relations in a less stigmatizing manner, medical anthropologists and mental health workers can contribute to the reduction of stigma in global mental health care. JF - Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry TI - Navigating diagnoses: Understanding mind–body relations, mental health, and stigma in Nepal KW - ethnomedicine KW - global-health KW - mentalhealth KW - stigma AU - Kohrt, Brandon AU - Harper, Ian UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-008-9110-6 ER -