Alex Cohen – författare

Psychotic disorders are a major public health challenge. Psychoses are associated with significant individual, familial, and societal costs. Yet, our understanding of these conditions is limited because the overwhelming majority of research is conducted in a small number of countries in North America, Europe, and Australasia, which together comprise only around 16% of the world's population. There are consequently substantial gaps in our knowledge of psychoses, and the need for a global perspective is obvious.Psychosis: Global Perspectives comprises two parts: In the first half of the book, the authors review the current evidence base on psychoses around the world by theme, from epidemiology to human rights, highlighting commonalities and differences between settings and illustrating the gaps in our knowledge. The second half of the book synthesises existing research from nine countries in the Global South, providing detailed accounts of ongoing research programmes, local treatment systems, and cultural contexts, and contrasting these with theory and data generated from the Global North. Together, these sections illustrate how experiences of psychosis may be shaped by social context, and the importance of diversifying the settings in which research on psychosis is conducted.Academically rigorous yet accessibly written, this new title addresses the substantial inequalities in literature and attention in the global understanding of psychotic disorders.

Global health is an area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. Global mental health is the application of these principles to the domain of mental ill-health. The most striking inequity is that concerning the disparities in provision of care and respect for human rights of people living with mental health problems (MHP) between rich and poor countries. Low and middle income countries (LMIC) are home to over 80% of the global population, but command less than 20% of the share of the mental health resources. The consequent 'treatment gap' is in itself a contravention of basic human rights. Even where treatment is provided, far too often this falls far below minimum acceptable standards. Failure to provide basic necessities such as adequate nourishment, clothing, shelter, comfort and privacy, unauthorized and unmonitored detention, shackling and chaining are all well documented abuses, described recently as a 'failure of humanity'. The emergence of the discipline of global mental health as one of the most dynamic fields of global health underscores the need for this textbook for students of the discipline. Global mental health was cited by the NIMH Director in his 2012 year ending blog as one of the major advances in mental health in 2012 and by one of the most influential figures in psychiatry and anthropology, Arthur Kleinman, as the exciting future of academic psychiatry (Br J Psychiatry, December 2012). The scope of the book is to cover two major aspects of the field: its scientific foundations and its practice and opens with an original account charting the history of the field from antiquity to its most recent developments. The language and content is geared towards a wide audience of practitioners and students of global mental health, including those who do not have any previous training in a clinical mental health specialty. This textbook, edited by four of the field's most widely acknowledged champions, with 20 chapters authored by over 30 global leaders of the field from diverse institutions and countries, is aimed to be the definitive text of this dynamic new discipline.

In 1974, the World Health Organization began research on the effectiveness of mental health services in the developing world. Through their efforts they found that treatment methods were extremely limited in their usefulness and, in some cases, even inappropriate and harmful. Little has changed in the last quarter century of the 20th century, but the research in these countries has shown that psychological need often stems from poor physical conditions. Elements including social and economical inequalities, gender discrimination, political violence and malnutrition and poor physical health all contribute to the social and psychological decay of both individuals and communities. The goal of the WHO is to document previous studies on communities of developing countries and to build on this information in order to move forward in research.Using real cases based in the South Pacific, Asia, South and Latin America and Europe, this volume sets out examples of community-based interventions that have succeeded by implementing: outreach to the families and community to identify those in need; reliable and adequate drug supplies; treatment interventions; and healthy psychosocial environments.

In the past dozen years, the field of international mental health has been transformed from a sub-discipline that attracted only a handful of anthropologists, psychiatrists, and psychologists, into a field that has now become a major concern in international public health. The World Mental Health Casebook will serve as a resource for those engaged in the widening efforts to address the burden of mental disorders in low-income countries. The case studies contained here describe: the "Shanghai Model" of psychiatric rehabilitation for persons with schizophrenia, an extraordinary mental health program for poor patients in Lima, Peru who are undergoing treatment for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, how Guatemalan refugee women in Mexico were trained to become mental health promoters, the development of mental health services in primary care settings in Nepal, the attempts to improve the lives of women in India through literacy programs, the radical reform of psychiatric services in Trieste, Italy, and research from Fiji and Hong Kong that shows how traditional practices can lower the prevalence of post-partum depression. Each case history, through concrete and pragmatic examples, offers lessons that can inform the functioning of services elsewhere. In general, the Casebook, will also encourage others to undertake careful documentation and evaluation of programs so that the mistakes of the past can be avoided, and the successes replicated.