In the 1980s, transcultural psychiatry was a developing field which was commanding increasing attention for three major reasons. First, many societies were becoming more and more multicultural, and therefore professional health workers needed to be aware of the needs and background of ethnic groups, as well as to be familiar with their own cultural assumptions. Secondly, the study of psychiatric illness across cultures can illuminate features of such an illness in our own society. Thirdly, the way in which racism may initiate or sustain psychiatric disorder had become a topic essential to a present-day understanding of transcultural psychiatry.

Originally published in 1986, this book provides a review of many such aspects of transcultural psychiatry. It is written at a level suitable for mental health professionals, including trainee psychiatrists, but would also interest students and other qualified staff, including psychologists, nurses, social workers and other professional workers concerned with race relations and the provision of psychiatric services for ethnic groups.