Limited seating, so please RSVP here: beyondthenaming.eventbrite.com
For decades, psychiatry and mental health have leaned towards an understanding of biological determinism when considering neurological disorders. The birth of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952 and its subsequent editions identified and defined specific mental disorders and symptoms, in turn influencing psychopharmacology and biomedical treatments. Through these mechanisms, the American Psychiatric Association has tremendous impact. At the same time, the world of psychiatry and mental health has risked falling into what Chimamanda Adichie called “the danger of a single story.”
For decades, psychiatry and mental health have leaned towards an understanding of biological determinism when considering neurological disorders. The birth of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1952 and its subsequent editions identified and defined specific mental disorders and symptoms, in turn influencing psychopharmacology and biomedical treatments. Through these mechanisms, the American Psychiatric Association has tremendous impact. At the same time, the world of psychiatry and mental health has risked falling into what Chimamanda Adichie called “the danger of a single story.”
We will explore the other side of the story in this program. Culture offers great lessons for psychiatry, inviting us to think about the intertwined relationship between biology, environment, and health. Dr. Gong and students from this term’s seminar on “Global Mental Health” put mental health under the spotlight, unpacking its sociocultural implications and exploring alternatives to mental health treatments, and sharing their explorations.
Dr. Gong is an Anthropologist who works at the intersection of medical anthropology, global health, African studies, and China studies. His research is based in South Sudan and China. Before he became an anthropologist, Dr. Gong had a previous career as a journalist, both at Xinhua News Agency and as China Regional News Editor for SciDev.net—a leading source of news, views, and analysis about science and technology for global development.