Hyderabad’s psychiatrists learn from Jamshoro anthropologists

Blending anthropology with psychiatry can foster culturally informed, compassionate mental health care.

Anthropology and psychiatry can collaborate to lead to a deeper understanding of mental health challenges and culturally appropriate care, said speakers at a seminar at the Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences in Hyderabad on Saturday.

Medical Superintendent Dr. Nisar Ahmed Sohoo had asked Dr. Abdul Razaque Channa, the chairman of the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology of the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, and Dr. Rafique Ahmed Wassan to speak. They discussed the significance of anthropology in enriching psychiatric education, practice, and research.

Dr. Channa outlined four major subfields which help us comprehend complex human behavior. He stressed the importance of culture as the central focus of anthropological inquiry.

Dr. Wassan introduced the concept of Psychological Anthropology, focusing on the work of Ruth Benedict, a pioneering American anthropologist of the 1930s and 1940s. He discussed the Culture and Personality school of thought, illustrating its significance for psychiatry and mental health education and research. Dr. Wassan elaborated on Benedict’s concepts of cultural-psychological types and national character, demonstrating their continued relevance in understanding the cultural dimensions of mental health.