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*HUGE*@TheLancetPsych, one of the most powerful journals in the world, is calling game over for "global mental health" as we know it.
Just *HOW BIG* could this be? Imagine if McKinsey called game over for capitalism as we know it (and meant it).
+ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30348-5/fulltext
Quick recap of what brought @TheLancetPsych here.
Recently, it published a position paper on "global mental health" in the context of the pandemic. Except the paper wasn't really "global".
It had 25 authors - *almost all from rich countries*. + https://twitter.com/TheLancetPsych/status/1284134951408082954?s=19
Recently, it published a position paper on "global mental health" in the context of the pandemic. Except the paper wasn't really "global".
It had 25 authors - *almost all from rich countries*. + https://twitter.com/TheLancetPsych/status/1284134951408082954?s=19
. @MajiHailemariam @netshrink et al immediately called out the appalling miss, which is a symptom of a larger problem:
Psychology/psychiatry have long been under the thumb of a tiny, exclusive western club.
My newsletter for @The_Corres explained this: + https://thecorrespondent.com/609/dear-western-mental-health-experts-stop-calling-yourselves-global/80621902284-6d2fb7a6
Psychology/psychiatry have long been under the thumb of a tiny, exclusive western club.
My newsletter for @The_Corres explained this: + https://thecorrespondent.com/609/dear-western-mental-health-experts-stop-calling-yourselves-global/80621902284-6d2fb7a6
Public health conversations monopolised by rich countries = silly, one-sided narratives on topics like social distancing, ignoring the reality of, say, India or Nigeria.
My colleague @olutimehin's piece from Lagos: https://thecorrespondent.com/378/why-social-distancing-wont-work-for-us/50041180728-3862bf28
My piece:
https://thecorrespondent.com/395/in-a-country-of-1-3-billion-space-isnt-just-scarce-its-taboo-try-squaring-that-with-a-pandemic/52291710020-c9c1ebbd +
My colleague @olutimehin's piece from Lagos: https://thecorrespondent.com/378/why-social-distancing-wont-work-for-us/50041180728-3862bf28My piece:https://thecorrespondent.com/395/in-a-country-of-1-3-billion-space-isnt-just-scarce-its-taboo-try-squaring-that-with-a-pandemic/52291710020-c9c1ebbd +
This nexus of rich countries is dangerous in mental health because it wipes out critical local socio-cultural factors.
Ironically, the so-called "global mental health movement" has ended up doing just this, basically as a "front for pharma companies": +
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_mental_health
Ironically, the so-called "global mental health movement" has ended up doing just this, basically as a "front for pharma companies": +
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_mental_health
. @ethanwatters1 has written a fabulous book on how western money + academic influence + Big Pharma created a vicious system in which an ever increasing number of "mental illnesses" are exported from the west to the rest of the world. +
When the world listens to rich indigenous wisdom on even complex conditions like schizophrenia, we all win.
We @The_Corres commissioned the talented American writer Stephanie Leguichard, who did a great job of highlighting the work of @scarf_india etc: + https://thecorrespondent.com/407/people-not-pills-what-the-west-can-learn-from-developing-countries-about-treating-mental-illness/53880318932-07966bfc
We @The_Corres commissioned the talented American writer Stephanie Leguichard, who did a great job of highlighting the work of @scarf_india etc: + https://thecorrespondent.com/407/people-not-pills-what-the-west-can-learn-from-developing-countries-about-treating-mental-illness/53880318932-07966bfc
It was in this context that @TheLancetPsych's omission of voices from low/middle income countries in its global mental health position paper after Covid sparked outrage.
Remember, the pandemic and the narrative of 'borders don't matter' already pose a threat to local knowledge.+
Remember, the pandemic and the narrative of 'borders don't matter' already pose a threat to local knowledge.+
In its latest editorial, @TheLancetPsych acknowledges all these problems and promises to #DoBetter.
It acknowledges @MajiHailemariam and @netshrink's exhortations.
It commits to promoting
- greater diversity in research
- questioning who benefits from this research +
It acknowledges @MajiHailemariam and @netshrink's exhortations.
It commits to promoting
- greater diversity in research
- questioning who benefits from this research +
As an editor-turned-reporter, I also appreciate the fact that editors have taken responsibility for this lapse. To give credit where it's due, co-authors of the paper, such as @viscidula, did step forward to take responsibility and promised to do better. +
To be sure, one journal editorial can achieve only so much. As @Dee_Knipe says, it remains to be seen how @TheLancetPsych will *implement* its promises.
But for starters, this is a big, exciting shake-up for global mental health.
Cheers to that
<Fin> https://twitter.com/Dee_Knipe/status/1289206281887076353?s=19
But for starters, this is a big, exciting shake-up for global mental health.
Cheers to that
<Fin> https://twitter.com/Dee_Knipe/status/1289206281887076353?s=19
PS: The fight against dogma and western hegemony in psychiatry has lessons for us all. This whole episode proves that if you speak with facts and conviction - and speak again and again - you *CAN* get even the most monolithic power centres to listen and change things. 
