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transtwill's review against another edition
5.0
An interesting trip through the global view of mental illness as influenced by the coldly clinical position of the United States. It talks of native views of hardship and illness and the disruption of cultural views and way of healing through the unwanted "help" that well-meaning american clinicians force on other countries.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
arachnophobia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.25
A fascinating set of case studies based in non-Western countries that look at the problems arising from Western uses and constructions of mental illness and treatment. This book stands as one of many pieces of evidence that point to the issues we face as a culture that values individualism, hyperintrospection, a sense of Western superiority, etc.
willowtree3335's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Definitely worth reading because it provides valuable perspectives/ways of thinking about mental health and psychiatry that question conventional narratives which is important, but it may not be researched in the most airtight way and I don’t agree with everything in it. I also don’t like many of the authors opinions/stances outside of the book
zzzzh233's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
!!!!!!!! bro...
stopping ssri as praxis??
stopping ssri as praxis??
val_halla's review against another edition
3.0
This book was divided into four parts, each focusing on a different mental illness that American psychologists are supposedly forcing on the world. I really valued the chapter on schizophrenia, because the majority of it was about a doctor's experience with schizophrenic patients in Zanzibar. Her firsthand studies of what allows mentally ill people to be successfully integrated into society were what earned this book's 3 stars. The other sections, however, were mostly political rants where the author positions himself as the only voice of truth. While I was interested in the marketing of SSRIs in Japan, the tone of the writing was so vitriolic that I couldn't take it seriously. Discussing academics who research these drugs, Watters says on pages 233-4, "In short, no one seemed to be losing any sleep over the ethics of such a luxurious meeting being sponsored by a drug company. No doubt the thread count in the sheets helped in this regard." His attitude made me laugh out loud, because obviously he is making his own profit by writing this book. To pretend that he is above financial incentives really undermines his credibility. There is some good information for medical professional and other caregivers in here, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.