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11 - A new psychiatry for a new world: postcolonialism, postmodernism, and the integration of premodern thought into psychiatry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 August 2009

By
Ramotse Saunders ,
Amjad Hindi  and
Ipsit Vahia
Edited by
Carl I. Cohen  and
Sami Timimi
Ramotse Saunders
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
Amjad Hindi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
Ipsit Vahia
Affiliation:
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, NYUSA
Carl I. Cohen
Affiliation:
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Sami Timimi
Affiliation:
Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Trust
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Summary

Introduction

In conceptualizing a new psychiatry for a new world, the authors found themselves having points of similarity as well as points of departure. They quickly realized that their differing viewpoints were influenced significantly by their backgrounds, their parent cultures, their adopted ones – in essence, their histories. This undoubtedly had an effect on the way this chapter was written. The aforementioned points of departure rendered a single chapter in a single voice an impossibility.

Instead, we are presenting three individually written essays. These essays contain as their organizing themes (in sequence) a postcolonial perspective, postmodern analysis, and an integration of premodern thoughts in contemporary psychiatry. It is our hope that these essays can, in conjunction, highlight some of the complexities and contradictions of psychiatry as it is faced with a “global” condition. This format is also intended to suggest that a “global vision” of psychiatry may only be possible if psychiatry is seen as a compendium of ideologies and philosophies which necessarily remain contradictory, but which may coexist within the context of multiple local discourses. Finally, we do not intend to provide a resolution to the many issues that prevail in the world of psychiatric thought, but to provide impetus to debate.

Postcolonialism and psychiatry

Ramotse Saunders

The term “new world” itself presents a conundrum. What exactly is it and where might we situate it?

Type
Chapter
Information
Liberatory Psychiatry
Philosophy, Politics and Mental Health
 , pp. 205 - 234
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

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