ABSTRACT
Cultural psychiatry has attained increasing stature and visibility during the past few decades. The impressive growth of this field can be most certainly traced to the ongoing process of globalization that is bringing about substantial changes in the United States and abroad. This process is associated with a wave of powerful trends such as urbanization, rapid social changes, the growth of information technology as well as political and economic changes that result in ongoing major adjustments for the numerous cultural groups around the world (Desjarlais et al. 1995). Ideological, academic, and political trends within the field of psychiatry have not only facilitated the development of concepts, tools, and research in cultural psychiatry but also have generated intensive dialogue regarding important issues involving culture, ethnicity, and race (Okpaku 1998).
