Cultural Conceptions of Mental Health and Therapy

`This volume represents a major contribution to the field of culture and mental health. While the field lacks a unified paradigm for its diverse areas of inquiry, it is united in its endeavor to question the relevance of the reductionistic biomedical `disease model'. The evidence presented here supporting the role of cultural factors in the etiology, expression, course, and outcome of mental disorders is overwhelming. At the same time, the work eludicates many conceptual and methodological issues that remain unresolved.' Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 1:1 (1987) `Each section is in itself a worthy volume on its own. The four sections together combine to give the breadth and depth of conceptions to satisfy one's most rigorous intellectual, theoretical and clinical demands. ... This is a book that is a must on the reading list of every worker in the field of culture and mental health - psychiatrists, psychologists, anthropologists, social workers and serious scholars who have an interest in the study of the human mind and the human spirit in cultural context. The editors and authors are to be congratulated on such a marvellously rich volume.' Journal of Intercultural Studies, 6:2