This pioneering work is multi-disciplinary in approach as it examines the rich folk medicine of Jamaica. Payne-Jackson and Alleyne analyse the historical and linguistic aspects of folk medicine, based on their research, which included extensive fieldwork and interviews. They explore the sociological and ethnological dimensions of common healing and health-preserving practices which rely on Jamaica's rich biodiversity in medicinal and nutritional flora. As is the case with other aspects of Jamaican traditional culture, Jamaican folk medicine is largely misunderstood and subject to negative pejorative attitudes. This comprehensively study challenges some of the myths and misinformation. Particular attention is paid to cultural transference from Africa and the use of herbs in African-Jamaican religions. The work has an appendix and a glossary as well as a detailed bibliography.

As Caribbean communities become more international, clinicians and scholars must develop new paradigms for understanding treatment preferences and perceptions of illness. Despite evidence supporting the need for culturally appropriate care and the integration of traditional healing practices into conventional health and mental health care systems, it is unclear how such integration would function since little is known about the therapeutic interventions of Caribbean healing traditions. Caribbean Healing Traditions: Implications for Health and Mental Health fills this gap. Drawing on the knowledge of prominent clinicians, scholars, and researchers of the Caribbean and the diaspora, these healing traditions are explored in the context of health and mental health for the first time, making Caribbean Healing Traditions an invaluable resource for students, researchers, faculty, and practitioners in the fields of nursing, counseling, psychotherapy, psychiatry, social work, youth and community development, and medicine.