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Global Mental Health and Psychopharmacology in Precarious Ecologies: Anthropological Considerations for Engagement and Efficacy

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The Palgrave Handbook of Sociocultural Perspectives on Global Mental Health

Abstract

Contrary to common assumptions, treatments that use psychopharmaceuticals require thorough cultural consideration just as psychosocial interventions do. Current efforts to “scale up” global mental health interventions must recognize the social, cultural, and psychological contexts of mental illness and its treatment, and the ecological features of environments with respect to socioeconomic and political conditions that may predispose persons to mental illness through entrapment in precarious situations. Such interventions should be based on a fine-tuned engagement with patients and their families characterized by engaged listening and dialogue if they are to facilitate communication and understanding of both the medical and social expectations associated with the use of psychopharmaceuticals.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology and Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

    Janis H. Jenkins & Ellen Kozelka

Authors
  1. Janis H. Jenkins
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  2. Ellen Kozelka
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Psychology, Health and Society University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Ross G. White

  2. School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Sumeet Jain

  3. Department of Social Work and Social Care, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom

    David M.R. Orr

  4. CERMES3, Paris, France

    Ursula M. Read

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Jenkins, J.H., Kozelka, E. (2017). Global Mental Health and Psychopharmacology in Precarious Ecologies: Anthropological Considerations for Engagement and Efficacy. In: White, R., Jain, S., Orr, D., Read, U. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Sociocultural Perspectives on Global Mental Health. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39510-8_8

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