Sociocultural Anthropology Models of Mental Function and Behavior

This chapter provides a historical overview of anthropological research in the field of mental health. The historical legacies of colonialism influenced early perceptions of mental illness cross-culturally. Understanding this history can be helpful to heed calls for anti-racist and anti-colonial psychiatry today. The chapter then explores cultural concepts of distress as a lens to better understand individual’s, community’s, and society’s framing of the causes, consequences, and resolution of psychological distress. Cultural concepts of distress can be best understood through the lens of ethnopsychology, which is a holistic understanding of emotions, distress, the self, and society from a cultural perspective. By the conclusion of this chapter, readers will have a stronger understanding of the roots of current psychiatric nosologies and the importance of cross-cultural understanding for the best public health and clinical practice.