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Cultural Awareness and Responsiveness in Person-Centered Psychiatry

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Person Centered Psychiatry

Abstract

Cultural awareness, knowledge, and responsiveness are essential components of person-centered psychiatry. The construct of culture refers to the systems of knowledge, values, institutions, and practices that constitute social systems, including families, communities, and societies. Culture and social context influence the causes of psychiatric disorders by creating identities and social positions that may differentially expose individuals to social stressors including racism, discrimination, and forms of structural violence, as well as to positive social support and resources that promote health, resilience, and well-being. Culture shapes symptom experience, and expression as well as modes of coping and the social response of others in ways that affect the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health problems. The course and outcome of psychiatric disorders depend on the interplay between culturally mediated processes of individual psychology, family and community dynamics, and relationships with the larger society. In this chapter, we outline current thinking about the role of culture in mental health and illness and review approaches to integrating attention to culture and social context in person-centered care. We discuss some specific tools and strategies for culturally informed assessment and treatment and outline some issues for culturally responsive mental health services, health care policy, and mental health promotion.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. James McGill Professor and Director, Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Laurence J. Kirmayer MD

  2. Director, Culture and Mental Health Research Unit, Institute of Community and Family Psychiatry, Jewish General Hospital, 4333 Cote Ste Catherine Rd., Montreal, QC, H3T 1E4, Canada

    Laurence J. Kirmayer MD

  3. Director, Research and Teaching Pole, Centre Minkowska, Paris, France

    Rachid Bennegadi MD

  4. Co-Director, University Diploma on Health, Disease, Care and Cultural Competence, University of Paris, Descartes, Paris, France

    Rachid Bennegadi MD

  5. Specialist in Psychiatry, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    Marianne C. Kastrup MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Laurence J. Kirmayer MD
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  2. Rachid Bennegadi MD
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  3. Marianne C. Kastrup MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Laurence J. Kirmayer MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Psychiatry, New York University Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    Juan E. Mezzich

  2. Laboratory Ethics, Professionalism, University of Western Brittany, Bohars, France

    Michel Botbol

  3. Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    George N. Christodoulou

  4. Department of Psychiatry, WASHINGTON UNIV SCH MED Department of Psychiatry, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

    C. Robert Cloninger

  5. Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Coral Gables, Florida, USA

    Ihsan M. Salloum

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Kirmayer, L.J., Bennegadi, R., Kastrup, M.C. (2016). Cultural Awareness and Responsiveness in Person-Centered Psychiatry. In: Mezzich, J., Botbol, M., Christodoulou, G., Cloninger, C., Salloum, I. (eds) Person Centered Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39724-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39724-5_7

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