2021 INS Annual Meeting
Online Conference
November 4-5

Global Mental Health Care: Identifying Disparities and Setting Priorities

Thursday, November 4, 2021
12:00p EDT / 16:00 UTC

Organizations like the World Health Organization have identified mental health care as a key component of health care, declaring 'there is no health without mental health.' The prioritization of mental health, however, varies widely between countries, access to it is often determined by their social and economic status, and personal willingness to seek care can be complicated by cultural circumstances.

This panel will explore how mental health care intersects with nationality, nationality gender, sexual orientation, and/or disability in an international context. Panelists will examine how:

  • mental health is understood across local and international contexts,
  • disparities in mental health have social and economic determinants,
  • mental illness is caused by or is co-morbid with marginalization and persecution,
  • mental health care neglects marginalized people, and how
  • we can be more just in treating mental illness.

Speakers

  • Eunice Kamaara, Moi University (Kenya)
  • Neely Myers, Anthropology Southern Methodist University (United States)
  • Jose Humberto Nicolini Sanchez, Asociación Mexicana de Neuroética; Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica (INMEGEN) (Mexico)
  • Moderator: Katherine Bassil, Maastricht University (Netherlands)

Agenda

  • Discussion among panelists (40 minutes)
  • Questions from attendees (20 minutes)
Profile pictures and names of the speakers and moderator with background picture of interlocking puzzle pieces

Recording

Resources

  • Culture, Stress and Recovery from Schizophrenia: Lessons from the Field for Global Mental Health. Neely Laurenzo Myers. Cult Med Psychiatry. 2010 Sep; 34(3):500–528. (PDF)
  • Update: Schizophrenia Across Cultures. Neely Laurenzo Myers. Curr Psychiatry Rep, 2011 Aug; 13(4):305-11. (PDF)

Speakers

Image of Eunice Kamaara
Eunice Kamaara

Moi University

Eunice Kamaara, a professor of African Christian Ethics at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya, is an ethicist with over thirty-year experience in holistic health development participatory research and practice. She has expertise in mainstreaming Gender & Diversity for Justice and Inclusivity and is passionate about translating research findings into practical development through policy influence and community engagement. She has more than 100 publications. She co-directs the African Character Initiation Programme, a community based and community participatory organization on mentorship of adolescents for health and values, recognized by the World Health Organization among the Top 30 2019 Africa Health Innovations. 

Image of Neely Myers
Neely Myers

Department of Anthropology, Southern Methodist University

Neely Laurenzo Myers, PhD, is currently tenured at Southern Methodist University in the Department of Anthropology where she runs the Mental Health Equity Lab and is also an . She is the author of Recovery’s Edge, and has a forthcoming book called Breaking Points about experiences of early psychosis in the U.S.  She is a medical anthropologist specializing in mental health for persons experiencing psychosis or psychotic-like symptoms such as hearing voices.

Jose Humberto Nicolini Sanchez

Asociación Mexicana de Neuroética;
Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica (INMEGEN)

Moderator

Image of Katherine Bassil
Katherine Bassil

Maastricht University

Katherine Bassil is a doctoral fellow at the School of Mental Heath and Neurosciences, at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. She is investigating stress susceptibility in addition to the ethical implications of biomarkers for PTSD susceptibility and resilience, and the use of stem cell technology as a model for brain disorders. She is also the founder/host of the neuroethics podcast: Neuroethics Today.