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Improving mental health care through culturally sensitive research and practice
Culturally sensitive practice is a vital component of effective mental health care
in our increasingly diverse societies: Mental illnesses vary in prevalence between
cultural and ethnic groups, as do the meanings attached to them and people´s
responses to them. The important implications of this interplay between culture
and psychopathology for diagnosis and treatment are scrutinized and elucidated
in this comprehensive and well-organized book, which uniquely looks at a range of
practical examples involving various ethnic minority populations in North America
and Europe. Leading experts from around the world have integrated divergent
topics into a systematic and clinically relevant volume. Cultural Variations in Psychopathology:

From Research to Practice is an important resource for researchers
and in particular for any mental health professional who works with ethnically
diverse communities.

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Table of Contents
Foreword by Dinesh Bhugra
Preface & Acknowledgments
I. Introduction: The Relevance of Culture for Mental Health and Illness
Introduction to Cultural Variations in Psychopathology: From Research to Practice
by Sven Barnow & Nazli Balkir
Chapter 1: Migration and Mental Health: An Overview from Europe by Meryam Schouler-Ocak
II. How Culture Shapes Our Brain
Chapter 2: Understanding the Self: A Cultural Neuroscience Perspective by Shihui Han
Chapter 3: The Self and Its Emotional Brain by Georg Northoff & Jaak PankseppIII. The Interplay Between Culture and Emotion Regulation: Implications for Mental Health
Chapter 4: Socialization of Emotions and Emotion Regulation in Cultural Context
by Gisela Trommsdorff & Tobias Heikamp
Chapter 5: Emotion Regulation in Cultural Context: Implications for Wellness and Illness
by Emily A. Butler
Chapter 6: Unpacking Cultural Differences in Emotion Regulation: The Role of Flexibility
by Elisabeth A. Arens
IV. Diagnosis: Culture and Psychiatric Disorders
Chapter 7: Culturally Informing Diagnostic Systems by Juan Mezzich
Chapter 8: Depression and "Somatization" among Two Divergent Cultural Groups by Sofie Bäärnhielm
Chapter 9: Cultural Influences on Perceptions of Pain by Herta Flor
Chapter 10: Embitterment in Cultural Contexts by Michael Linden
Chapter 11: Suicide in Cultural Context - From Etiology to Prevention: The Case of China
by Kenneth R. Conner & Liang Zhou
Chapter 12: Substance Abuse and Addiction Among Divergent Ethnic Groups
by Hans-Jörg Assion & Eckhardt Koch
Chapter 13: Possible Misclassification of Psychotic Symptoms Among Moroccan Immigrants in
The Netherlands by Tekleh Zandi
V. Treatment: Taking Culture Into Account
Chapter 14: Mental Illness Models and Help Seeking Behaviors Among Turkish Immigrant Patients
in Europe by Nazli Balkir
Chapter 15: Training for Overcoming Health Disparities in Mental Health Care: Interpretative-Relational
Cultural Competence by Adil Qureshi & Francisco José Eiroa Orosa
Chapter 16: Integration of Immigrants in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy: Experiences and Concepts in
Germany and Europe by Wieland Machleidt, Eckhardt Koch, Iris T. Calliess, Renate Schepker,
Marc Ziegenbein, Marcel G. Sieberer, & Ramazan Salman
Keyword Index

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Prof. Dr. Sven Barnow ist Leiter des Lehrstuhls Klinische Psychologie/Psychotherapie und der Psychotherapeutischen Hochschulambulanz am Psychologischen Institut der Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg. Professor Barnow ist zudem Psychologischer Psychotherapeut (Verhaltenstherapie) und Supervisor. Er hat viele Jahre eine Psychotherapiestation für Persönlichkeitsstörungen (speziell Borderline) geleitet und beschäftigt sich u. a. mit der Frage, wie sich Psychotherapieeffekte verbessern lassen. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt ist dabei die Bedeutung der Emotionsregulation für psychische Gesundheit und Störung. Momentan entsteht hierzu ein weiteres Buch, das diese Forschungsbefunde und Materialien zur Selbsthilfe enthält.

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