Mental Health in Ghana: Standardisation, Advocacy and Changing Perceptions of Care and Disease

Mental health in Ghana has always been a contentious issue due to its association with supernatural forces, such as witchcraft. This has led to mental health being poorly understood as a condition that can be dealt with through the healthcare system. However, in recent years, there seems to be a change in mental health perceptions in Ghana, driven by both Ghanaian and foreign-trained mental health practitioners. These practitioners are pushing the development of treatment standardisation through the application of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), in their professional practices. Based on qualitative methods and ethnographic interviews with Ghanaian mental health experts, the chapter examines the tensions arising between plural medical views on mental health, that is, in standardised registers and in local beliefs and demands. How does the mediating force of the DSM-5-TR affect the ways in which Ghanaian mental health practitioners apply their knowledge and expertise in a society that considers mental health challenges to belong to the supernatural realm? And how do socio-cultural frames of referring to issues of mental health impact professional registration practices?