Geographically and demographically Asia is a huge region with a large number of societies and cultures, each affected by their own unique problems including over-population, major natural disasters, poverty and changing social and economic factors. Inevitably this means that different mental health needs have developed across the region. Colonialism, globalization, industrialization and urbanization have brought major demographic and cultural shifts in the region but clinical mental health practices and services and societal attitudes to mental health issues vary enormously. This handbook surveys the state of the current psychiatric care field across the whole Asia-Pacific region. Focusing on individual countries, each chapter will include: A summary of factors affecting the practice and provision of psychiatric care, including cultural attitudes to mental health issues Coverage of the conceptualisation, causation and prevalence of mental health issues in society An overview of mental health care services and systems available and workforce training Coverage of country specific innovative practices and folk therapies As the first major reference work on psychiatric care in Asia this book is an essential resource for scholars and students researching mental health in Asia as well as psychiatrists and other mental health professionals working in the region.

Geographically and demographically Asia is a huge region with a large number of societies and cultures, each affected by their own unique problems including over-population, major natural disasters, poverty and changing social and economic factors. Inevitably this means that different mental health needs have developed across the region. Colonialism, globalization, industrialization and urbanization have brought major demographic and cultural shifts in the region but clinical mental health practices and services and societal attitudes to mental health issues vary enormously. This handbook surveys the state of the current psychiatric care field across the whole Asia-Pacific region. Focusing on individual countries, each chapter will include: A summary of factors affecting the practice and provision of psychiatric care, including cultural attitudes to mental health issues Coverage of the conceptualisation, causation and prevalence of mental health issues in society An overview of mental health care services and systems available and workforce training Coverage of country specific innovative practices and folk therapies As the first major reference work on psychiatric care in Asia this book is an essential resource for scholars and students researching mental health in Asia as well as psychiatrists and other mental health professionals working in the region.

Global public health is of growing concern to most governments and populations, nowhere more so than in Asia, the world’s largest and most populous continent. Whilst major advances have been made in controlling infectious diseases through public health measures as well as clinical medical treatments, the world now faces other challenges including ageing populations and the epidemic crisis of obesity and non-communicable diseases. New emerging infections continue to develop and the growing threats to health due to environmental pollution and climate change increase the need for resilience and sustainability. These threats to health are global in nature, and this Handbook will explore perspectives on current public health issues in South, Southeast and East Asia, informing global as well as regional debate. Whilst many books cite Western examples of the development of global public health, this Handbook brings together both Western and Eastern scholarship, creating a new global public health perspective suitable to face modern challenges in promoting the population’s health. This Handbook is essential reading not only for students, professionals and scholars of global public health and related fields but is also written to be accessible to those with a general interest in the health of Asia.

Mental health law is a rapidly evolving area of practice and research, with growing global dimensions. This work reflects the increasing importance of this field, critically discussing key issues of controversy and debate, and providing up-to-date analysis of cutting-edge developments in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australia. This is a timely moment for this book to appear. The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) sought to transform the landscape in which mental health law is developed and implemented. This Convention, along with other developments, has, to varying degrees, informed sweeping legislative reforms in many countries around the world. These and other developments are discussed here. Contributors come from a wide range of countries and a variety of academic backgrounds including ethics, law, philosophy, psychiatry, and psychology. Some contributions are also informed by lived experience, whether in person or as family members. The result is a rich, polyphonic, and sometimes discordant account of what mental health law is and what it might be. The Handbook is aimed at mental health scholars and practitioners as well as students of law, human rights, disability studies, and psychiatry, and campaigners and law- and policy-makers.

Mental health has always been a low priority worldwide. Yet more than 650 million people are estimated to meet diagnostic criteria for common mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, with almost three-quarters of that burden in low- and middle-income countries. Nowhere in the world does mental health enjoy parity with physical health. Notwithstanding astonishing medical advancements in treatments for physical illnesses, mental disorder continues to have a startlingly high mortality rate. However, despite its widespread neglect, there is now an emerging international imperative to improve global mental health and wellbeing. The UN’s current international development agenda finalised at the end of 2015 contains 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG3, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Although much broader in focus than the previous eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the need for worldwide improvement in mental health has finally been recognised. This Handbook addresses the new UN agenda in the context of mental health and sustainable development, examining its implications for national and international policy-makers, decision-makers, researchers and funding agencies. Conceptual, evidence-based and practical discussions crossing a range of disciplines are presented from the world’s leading mental health experts. Together, they explore why a commitment to investing in mental health for the fulfilment of SDG3 ought to be an absolute global priority.

Research on the family has expanded considerably across Asia but studies tend to be fragmented, focusing on narrow issues within limited areas (cities, towns, small communities) and may not be accessible to international readers. These limitations make it difficult for researchers, students, policy makers, and practitioners to obtain the information they need. The Routledge Handbook of Families in Asia fills that gap by providing a current and comprehensive analysis of Asian families by a wide range of experts in a single publication. The thirty-two chapters of this comparative and multi-disciplinary volume are organized into nine major themes: conceptual approaches, methodological issues, family life in the context of culture, family relationships across the family life cycle, issues of work and income, stress and conflict, family diversity, family policy and laws, and environmental setting of homes. Each chapter examines family life across Asian countries, studying cultural similarities and differences and exploring how families are changing and what trends are likely to develop in the future. To provide a fruitful learning experience for the reader, each chapter offers examples, relevant data, and a comprehensive list of references. Offering a complete interdisciplinary overview of families in Asia, the Handbook will be of interest to students, academics, policy makers and practitioners across the disciplines of Asian Studies, Sociology, Demography, Social Work, Law, Social Policy, Anthropology, Geography, Public Health and Architecture.

​This book critiques our reliance on Eurocentric knowledge in the education and training of psychology and psychiatry. Chapters explore the diversity of ‘constructions of the self’ in non-Western cultures, examining traditional psychologies from Africa, Asia, Australasia, and Pre-Columbian America. The authors discuss liberation psychologies and contemporary movements in healing and psychological therapy that draw on both Western and non-Western sources of knowledge. A central theme confronted is the importance, in a rapidly shrinking world, for knowledge systems derived from diverse cultures to be explored and disseminated equally. The authors contend that for this to happen, academia as a whole must lead in promoting cross-national and cross-cultural understanding that is free of colonial misconceptions and prejudices. This unique collection will be of value to all levels of study and practice across psychology and psychiatry and to anyone interested in looking beyond Western definitions and understandings.