Every day in hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, and school sick bays around the world, children (including adolescents) present with what have come to be known as functional somatic symptoms. These symptoms are ones that cannot be explained by an identifiable disease process—even after an extensive medical assessment has been done. They reflect, instead, …
We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. Accordingto the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 70.8million forcibly displaced people worldwide. This includes over 41 million inter-nally displaced people, 25 million refugees and 3.5 million asylum seekers. This isa challenge of historic proportions. Evolving responses having now become oneof th…
Psychiatry is the medical field that deals with mental illness. A womanwho finds herself depressed and anxious will seek help from a psychiatrist.A young man who hears voices when no one is present, speaks incoherentlyon occasion and declines all social invitations may likewise go to a psychia-trist, or be taken to one by his mother. The psychiatrist will interview theperson, order…
In the summer of 1874, Moses B., a young doctor, was brought intoEdinburgh Royal Asylum at Morningside. According to his family, hehad become so intent on taking his own life that they saw no otheroption but to have him certified as insane and admitted to the hospital.One of the doctors who examined him in his home had written in themedical certificate that Moses suffered from severe ‘delusio…
This open access edited collection contributes a new dimension to the study of mental health and psychiatry in the twentieth century. It takes the present literature beyond the ‘asylum and after’ paradigm to explore the multitude of spaces that have been permeated by concerns about mental well-being and illness. The chapters in this volume consciously attempt to break down institutional wal…