Author's Reply
| Published date | 01 September 1999 |
| Date | 01 September 1999 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059904600327 |
| Author | Kamaldeep Bhui |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Things are beginning to change,
especially the ’black other’. Cross cultural
however; as the Irish community emerges
psychiatry in its international sense does
from the shadow of The Troubles it is less
not have this problem. Thus psychiatry in
willing to accept its exclusion from anti-
Britain, as opposed to cross cultural or
discriminatory policies. The next census in
’transcultural’ psychiatry, emphasised
2001 will, for the first time, have an Irish
mental illness among ’African Caribbean’
category and many welfare agencies and
populations, and more recently among
service-providers now include the Irish in
’Asians’; these tendencies must be
their monitoring and equal opportunities
considered in their full socio-political and
policies.
historical sense (Bhugra & Bhui, 1999).
Unfortunately the Irish can look in vain
Many lament at such excitement and
to cross cultural psychiatry to champion its
preoccupation about illness in conspicuous
difficulties. A
movement which set out to
minorities at the expense of the ’big
challenge discrimination in psychiatric
picture’. It was the ’racialised’
practice has endorsed and legitimised the
interpretation of research findings that led
exclusion of a sizeable group of vulnerable
to an overly biological emphasis in the
people who could have benefited from its
appraisal and treatment of black people’s
influence.
mental illness.
Patrick Murphy
Although Irish people are recognised as
Probation Officer, Nottinghamshire
suffering higher rates of schizophrenia,
References
deliberate self harm, and alcohol-related
Bracken, P.J. et al (1998) ’Mental Health
problems, as a cultural group they were
and Ethnicity: An Irish Dimension’, in
not subject to similar degrees of excited
British Journal
and
of Psychiatry 172,
demeaning, albeit well-intentioned,
pp.103-5.
styles of research (Fernando, 1988).
NAPO
Regrettably, this meant
(1997) The Irish Commanity,
very little research
was devoted to Irish
Discrimination and the Criminal Justice
people at all. This is
disquieting as they do
System. London: NAPO.
represent such a
large proportion of Britain’s community.
Walters, B. (1998) ’Challenging the
However, I am unsure whether one should
Black/White Binary: The...
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