Anthropology and Global Mental Health: Depth, Breadth, and Relevance

Abstract

Anthropology brings nuance and innovation to the field of Global Mental Health. It offers depth and breadth of knowledge regarding the drivers of mental health and psychosocial wellness, championing a fine-grained approach to culture, and insisting on critical analyses of social and moral contexts relevant to wellbeing. It offers insights that are relevant for the design of effective and sustainable interventions, helping us understand what can be transformative in health promotion and lasting in terms of intergenerational change. This chapter presents critical reflections on culture, resilience, and mental health from previously published work in Afghanistan. One of the important lessons drawn from this research is that a sense of trajectory—a sense of coherence and hope—is fundamental to the struggle to be well. In the context of coping with violence, poverty, and inequality, gaining a deep understanding of mental health becomes a matter of understanding local narratives of resilience, as well as identifying the cultural goals and material resources that feed hope and help weather everyday stressors. Cultural insights on risk and resilience in mental health are worth scholarly investment and best advanced with a collaborative agenda, one that integrates approaches from medical anthropology and cross-cultural psychiatry.