Decolonising psychiatry in Pakistan

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From Mad in South Asia: Psychiatrist Yousaf Raza details the problems with psychiatric health care in Pakistan and shows how to find a way forward. He writes:

“Why do we over-prescribe, over-diagnose, and ignore psychosocial and cultural aspects? It is because we are intent on reducing everything psychic to the body/brain. In technical terms, this is biomedical reductionism. What is that? It is an archaic, essentially Western model that believes reality is mechanical and is best understood by breaking it down into its most fundamental parts. As promising as this model was for early developments in science, it is no longer tenable, even in the West. Mere lip-service to a biopsychosocial model, which has failed in its own country of origin, rather than being a remedy, only worsens the problem.”

Read the full article here.