Disrupting diagnostic hegemony

Reimagining mental health language with British South Asian communities

Bibliographic Data

ID22163058
AuthorsMd Zahidul I Pranjol (University of Sussex), Alia Amir (0000-0002-4624-5535, Institute of Linguistics, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume10
Publication date2025-05-30
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2504-284X • E-ISSN: 2504-284X
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/feduc.2025.1550711
OpenAlexW4410905245
LanguageEN
References cited27

This perspective paper draws attention toward an urgent issue, that is, decolonizing mental health language for South Asian communities. A quarter of the world speaks at least one South Asian language including the global South Asian diaspora and the British South Asian communities in the UK. In the wake of the spread of the British Raj, English language and the Western medicine through it, a lingering gap persists between the language of western medicine and medical care for South Asian communities, especially the terminologies used for mental health language. In addressing the complexities of cross-cultural psychiatry and psychiatric anthropology, it has for nearly five decades engaged with the cultural relativity of psychopathology. This body of work provides valuable insights into the nuanced ways in which mental health is understood and experienced in diverse cultural contexts. In this perspective paper, we highlight the linguistic colonial injustices and suggest some approaches to developing culturally relevant mental health terminology. Moreover, we aim to contribute to this discourse by focusing on the specific linguistic challenges faced by South Asian communities

Hegemony · Mental health · Political science · Psychiatry · Sociology · Cultural Competency in Health Care · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology

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