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Namah Cultural U-turns in understanding mental health

this doesn’t fit in with their own or their as we acknowledge deeper existential realities
observer’s belief systems. However, with about being human.
social media more people are explicit about
their experiences and the triggers for them. Now for a full cultural U-turn we need
to enhance education in our medical and
Today social media offers evidence of an healthcare establishments. My latest book,
uprising of anger against Western psychiatry. Cultural Perceptions on Mental Well Being (30)
Psychiatrists themselves are questioning such was written for medical and therapeutic
diagnoses (28, 29). Extreme experiences may practitioners to raise awareness of cultural
also be called ‘Spiritual Crisis’ or ‘Spiritual and spiritual ways of interpreting symptoms.
Emergency’. Some people are sensitive and I hope it is used widely as a resource for front-
can access visionary experiences without line healthcare practitioners.
taking any substances. Then there are people
who have spontaneous experiences and are References
diagnosed as ‘schizophrenic’ by those who
are not familiar with spiritual frameworks 1. Moncrieff J. The Myth of the Chemical Cure: A
of understanding. Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment. London:
Palgrave Macmillan; 2009.
The new way forward seems to be present
with suffering, rather than avoid it. People 2. Davies J. Cracked: Why Psychiatry is doing more
who did the new Open Dialogue and Peer- harm than good. London: Icon Books; 2014.
Supported Open Dialogue courses1 had dilemmas
once they returned to work, where it was 3. Whitaker R, Cosgrove L. Psychiatry under the
business as usual with their colleagues. Influence, Institutional Corruption, Social Injury,
and Prescriptions for Reform. New York: Palgrave
Cultural understanding Macmillan US; 2015.

In the West, for years the dominant model 4. Scientific symposium. [Online] http://
of knowledge was biomedical and scholars extendedroom.org/en/scientific-symposium/
mistakenly assumed it was globally ubiquitous. [Accessed 28th October 2016].
Now we understand a spiritual dimension
exists, which some people access deliberately, 5. Tobert N. [Online], Human Experiences in
some by chance, while others are disturbed Academic Boxes http://www.madinamerica.
and have no conceptual framework for under- com/2015/01/human-experiences-academic-
standing their experience. Each interpretation boxes/ [Accessed 28th October 2016].
depends on common consensus of peers or
colleagues. Today a turning-point is reached 6. Tobert N. Knowledge frameworks in medicine

1 Open Dialogue and Peer-Supported Open Dialogue are new ways of working in the UK National
Health Service for people with first onset psychosis. Using group discussion with consent, the
practice has taken off throughout Western countries. For millennia, it was a normal practice in
African countries for addressing distress by a council of elders.

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