Suman Fernando – författare

This powerful text offers a unique analysis of the impact of race and culture on contemporary issues in mental health. Drawing on extensive international experience, Fernando challenges the traditional ideas that inform practice in clinical psychology and psychiatry in order to promote new and alternative ways of thinking. Covering both theoretical perspectives and practical implications, this insightful text discusses perceptions of ethnicity and identity, compares practices around the world and looks at racism in mental health services.This fully revised, expanded and updated edition of a seminal text offers students and practitioners alike a comprehensive and reliable study of both western and non-western psychiatry and mental health practices.New to this Edition:- Covers trauma and psychosocial support- Looks at the new discourses in mental health of recovery, spirituality and well-being- Examines the mental health of refugees- Refers to specific developments in low-income countries, including Asia and Africa

Forensic psychiatry is the discipline which distinguishes the 'mad' from the 'bad', but are its values inherently racist? Why are individuals from non-Western backgrounds over-represented statistically in those diagnosed with schizophrenia and other serious illnesses? The authors argue that the values on which psychiatry is based are firmly rooted in ethnocentric Western culture, with profound implications for individual diagnosis and systems of care.Through detailed exploration of the history of psychiatry, current clinical issues and present public policy, this powerful book traces the growth of a system in which non-conformity to the prevailing cultural norms risks alienation and diagnosis of mental disorder.

This new edition of Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Society is an authoritative, comprehensive guide on issues around race, culture and mental health service provision. It has been updated to reflect the changes in the UK over the last ten years and features entirely new chapters by over twenty authors, expanding the range of topics by including issues of particular concern for women, family therapy, and mental health of refugees and asylum seekers.Divided into four sections the book covers:issues around mental health service provision for black and minority ethnic (BME) communities including refugees and asylum seekerscritical accounts of how these issues may be confronted, with examples of projects that attempt to do just that programs and innovative services that appear to meet some of the needs of BME communitiesa critical but constructive account of lessons to be drawn from earlier sections and discussion of the way ahead.With chapters on training, service user involvement, policy development and service provision Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Society will appeal to academics, professionals, trainers and managers, as well as providing up-to-date information for a general readership.

This new edition of Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Society is an authoritative, comprehensive guide on issues around race, culture and mental health service provision. It has been updated to reflect the changes in the UK over the last ten years and features entirely new chapters by over twenty authors, expanding the range of topics by including issues of particular concern for women, family therapy, and mental health of refugees and asylum seekers.Divided into four sections the book covers:issues around mental health service provision for black and minority ethnic (BME) communities including refugees and asylum seekerscritical accounts of how these issues may be confronted, with examples of projects that attempt to do just that programs and innovative services that appear to meet some of the needs of BME communitiesa critical but constructive account of lessons to be drawn from earlier sections and discussion of the way ahead.With chapters on training, service user involvement, policy development and service provision Mental Health in a Multi-Ethnic Society will appeal to academics, professionals, trainers and managers, as well as providing up-to-date information for a general readership.

As psychiatry has developed it has proved to be susceptible to the influence of contemporary social and political mores. With its origins in nineteenth-century Europe, psychiatry evolved as an ethnocentric body of knowledge, the vehicle of implicit and overt racism. Originally published in 1988 this author, however, saw no reason why the contemporary psychiatrist should not challenge this ethnocentrism. He provides a critical account of the development of psychiatry in relation to its cultural context and then examined contemporary practice of the time in the light of this development. Throughout, the book is informed by an awareness of issues of race and culture and of their difficult interactions, the author emphasising both the frequency of racist attitudes and the very real cultural distinctions in our society, distinctions that can be used to mask what are actually racist sentiments. What emerges is not just a plea for an anti-racist, culture sensitive psychiatry, but a blueprint for how this can be brought about. He argued that the shift towards community work and social psychiatry could reorientate the profession by confronting it with its social setting and responsibilities. This book represented a significant contribution to this literature for all mental health professionals and social scientists with an interest in this field at the time; the author has gone on to write many more.

As psychiatry has developed it has proved to be susceptible to the influence of contemporary social and political mores. With its origins in nineteenth-century Europe, psychiatry evolved as an ethnocentric body of knowledge, the vehicle of implicit and overt racism. Originally published in 1988 this author, however, saw no reason why the contemporary psychiatrist should not challenge this ethnocentrism. He provides a critical account of the development of psychiatry in relation to its cultural context and then examined contemporary practice of the time in the light of this development. Throughout, the book is informed by an awareness of issues of race and culture and of their difficult interactions, the author emphasising both the frequency of racist attitudes and the very real cultural distinctions in our society, distinctions that can be used to mask what are actually racist sentiments. What emerges is not just a plea for an anti-racist, culture sensitive psychiatry, but a blueprint for how this can be brought about. He argued that the shift towards community work and social psychiatry could reorientate the profession by confronting it with its social setting and responsibilities. This book represented a significant contribution to this literature for all mental health professionals and social scientists with an interest in this field at the time; the author has gone on to write many more.

?This book critiques our reliance on Eurocentric knowledge in the education and training of psychology and psychiatry. The authors discuss liberation psychologies and contemporary movements in healing and psychological therapy that draw on both Western and non-Western sources of knowledge.

?This book critiques our reliance on Eurocentric knowledge in the education and training of psychology and psychiatry. The authors discuss liberation psychologies and contemporary movements in healing and psychological therapy that draw on both Western and non-Western sources of knowledge.

'Black and minority ethnic communities lack confidence in mental health services', according to the National Service Framework for Mental Health published by the Department of Health in 1999. Cultural Diversity, Mental Health and Psychiatry examines how and why this situation has come about, and makes specific practical, often surprising, suggestions for changing the status quo. In his latest and most critical analysis, Suman Fernando reflects on the current situation in light of his own personal experience, academic research and anecdotal reports. He weaves together themes of immense importance for the future of psychiatry and mental health services in a multi-cultural setting, exploring:* the nature of racism and its permeation into mental health services * the inside story of the struggle against racism in statutory and voluntary sectors of the mental health system* the history of psychiatry and the role of spirituality, holistic thinking, psychotherapy and Asian traditions of medicine. Trainees, practitioners, and managers of mental health services will profit from the practical application of Fernando's latest ideas, and students and academics will benefit from his theoretical guidance.

Drawing on a lifetime of experience as a practicing psychiatrist, he examines how the system has shifted in response to new forms of racism which have emerged since the 1960s, highlighting the widespread pathologization of black people, the impact of Islamophobia on clinical practice after 9/11, and various struggles to reform.