Embracing Pluralism
Rethinking Western Psychiatric Models for Equitable Global Mental Health
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7514194 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Augustus Osborne (0000-0002-0226-841X, Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Culture Medicine and Psychiatry (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0165-005X • E-ISSN: 1573-076X |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11013-025-09966-9 |
| PMID | 41793549 |
| OpenAlex | W7134136016 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 30 |
The global mental health movement has brought much-needed attention to the vast burden of mental illness worldwide, yet its overwhelming reliance on Western psychiatric models has generated critical debate regarding cultural relevance and effectiveness. This commentary examines the limitations of exporting Western diagnostic categories and treatments to diverse settings, highlighting the risks of cultural mismatch, medicalization of social suffering, and marginalization of indigenous healing systems. Drawing on recent evidence from task-shifting, community-based interventions, and hybrid models, we demonstrate that locally grounded approaches such as Zimbabwe's friendship bench and collaborative programs between traditional and biomedical practitioners can be highly effective, culturally resonant, and sustainable. However, the unchecked predominance of Western paradigms has sometimes led to increased stigma, over-reliance on pharmaceuticals, and the erosion of community trust. To address these challenges, this paper recommend a pluralistic and participatory approach to global mental health, emphasizing culturally adapted care, local leadership, equitable research funding, and respectful integration of multiple healing traditions. The future of global mental health depends on humility, partnership, and a commitment to social justice, ensuring that mental health services are not only scientifically sound but also meaningful and accessible to all communities. Achieving effective and equitable mental health care globally requires moving beyond Western models to embrace pluralism, cultural adaptation, community engagement, local leadership, and equity
Global health · Global mental health · Mental health · Mental illness · Public health · Global Health and Surgery · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Mental Health Treatment and Access
Decolonizing Global Mental Health
The role of global traditional and complementary systems of medicine in the treatment of mental health disorders
Effectiveness of traditional healers in treating mental disorders
How scientifically valid is the knowledge base of global mental health?
‘Whether you like it or not people with mental problems are going to go to them’
Effect of a Primary Care–Based Psychological Intervention on Symptoms of Common Mental Disorders in Zimbabwe
Barriers to improvement of mental health services in low-income and middle-income countries
Experience of social stigma by people with schizophrenia in Hong Kong
The foreign gaze
Therapist competence in global mental health
Cognitive behaviour therapy-based intervention by community health workers for mothers with depression and their infants in rural Pakistan
The Lancet Commission on global mental health and sustainable development
Traditional healers for mental health care in Africa
Culture and stigma
Cultural explanations of psychotic illness and care-seeking of family caregivers in Java, Indonesia
Toward a new architecture for global mental health
Pills that Swallow Policy
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |