Stress and Emotional Health: Applications of Clinical Anthropology

Western medicine, including psychiatry and psychology, has had a virtual monopoly of the health industry. This has led to economic incentives that literally keep people sick. Anthropologists, because of their holistic and comparative base, are in a unique position to apply their knowledge within clinical settings. Written for anthropologists, but useful to all clinicians, this book offers a new model for understanding health and illness, provides a review of techniques found in many cultures for reducing individual and system stress, and offers processes for recovering health and individual social balance. The author establishes a model outlining the development of emotional problems and then offers the clinical tools and techniques for helping individuals, families and groups reduce stress and retranslate traumatic or distressing events.