Openmind - Suman Fernando(Mental Health Race And Culture

‘Openmind’ is a journal published by Mind (click to see), the National Association for Mental Health for England and Wales. Suman

Suman Fernando has been writing in Openmind since 1992 and has had a regular column siince January 2004. Some of his articles (summarized in the panels on the side of this page) are reproduced here with the permission of the editor of Openmind, Kathryn Perry.

These articles are meant for the general reader but, being necessarily short, they do not go into issues and topics in much detail. Readers are invited to e-mail Suman with comments (see 'contact us') and contact him if they wish to discuss them in any detail. But in any case many of the topics are pursued at greater length and depth in books, particularly, Mental Health, Race and Culture (second edition, 2002), Cultural Diversity, Mental Health and Psychiatry (2003) and Mental Health in a Multi-ethnic Society (2009).

My latest book , a completely re-written third edition of Mental Health, Race and Culture (Basingstoke: Palgrave / Macmillan, 1020) will released on (about) 29 January 2010.

Please let me know what you think about any of the issues I have tried to explore - <mhrac@btinternet.com>

.Whole systems change' or no change (2007) reports on the state of play in Delivering Race Equality More ...Cheering the Deranged discusses mental hospitals in the Islamic Empire of 12th to 14th Centuries. More ... Connecting Inside and Outside (2007) looks at spirituality across cultures. More .....We shall overcome (2008) takes a critical look at the concept of ‘recovery’ from a race and culture perspective voicing a preference for ‘liberation’. More .....Cultural Competence (2008) examines the meaning and usefulness of the term in training. More ... ....Connections (2008) explores the questions around personal identity and ethnicity. More ....Whose Reality Counts (2009) is a commentary on developing mental health services in the third world. More ....A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing is a comment on moves to change 'Race Equality' training to apparently exclude institutional racism. more......Wellbeing for all advocates 'wellbeign' as a concept that supersedes 'mental health'. more....Multicultural counselling suggests fusion between forms of counselling and healing. more...

Roots of Racism (1992) gives a short account of the racist background to (western) psychiatry. More...
Promoting Happiness (2002) is an account of a non-governmental organisation in Sri Lanka called Nest. More.Across Boundaries (2002) describes a voluntary organisation in Toronto (Canada).
More....Power and Misconceptions (2004) discusses the issues of ‘mental health’ in the ‘third world’.More.... Spiritual Psychology (2004) reflects on whether spirituality More ..

Just Being There (2004) considers the role of healing centres More....Backing User Choice (2005) points to the advantage of providing a variety of forms of ‘care’ or ‘therapy’. More... One World Spirit (2005), reflects on the lessons about care after the tsunami. More.... Is Stigma Universal? (2005) takes a transcultural view on stigma. More... Blowing in the Wind (2006) questions progress Delivering Race Equality. More...Working with Communities (2006) considers challenges in 'third world'.More...Research – who gains (2006) questions the way research is carried out. More ...