Culture and Mental Health: A Southern African View [Paperback]

Leslie Swartz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195709810 | ISBN-13: 978-0195709810 | Publication Date: July 15, 1999 | Edition: 1

This book introduces key issues in understanding social and cultural factors as they relate to mental health and illness, and to a southern African understanding and construction of these categories. It lays out central international and local debates in the field of mental health in an accessible way, making use of extensive research and case studies. Central theoretical debates (such as those between relativism and universalism, and between hermeneutical and critical approaches) are presented early in the text, and referred to throughout the more applied chapters. The aim is to equip the reader to assess the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to understanding specific aspects of mental health and illness. Stressed throughout is the role of the mental health professional in the construction of ideas of mental health and illness.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...Swartz has produced a well-argued case for each health provider to locate our understanding of patients and their symptoms in 'how we see the world'." --Transcultural Psychiatry

About the Author

Leslie Swartz is a Professor, Department of Psychology at University of Cape Town.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (July 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195709810
• ISBN-13: 978-0195709810
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,554,740 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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