racism and mental health: prejudice and suffering

The book will be of interest, and easily read by anyone working with a multi-ethnic clientele and should be required reading for anyone in the field of mental health'

-Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

I recommend this book as an important addition to the literature on mental health and on racism...this is a book well worth readying and studying.'

- Transcultural Psychiatry Sept 2005

Kam Bhui makes a valuable and important contribution to our understanding of culture and ethnicity. I strongly advise all psychiatrists, both consultants and trainees, to read this book and to respond honestly to the challenges it presents. It demonstrates the value of political and social analyses of our work in the training of psychiatrists. But for me, its greatest value is in the way it shows how we must acknowledge the influence of our own histories and cultural backgrounds on the way we approach our work and those we struggle to help. The Other will cease to be an Other only when we accept the Other in ourselves.'

-British Journal of Psychiatry

This is a refreshing addition to the growing body of literature on racism and mental health. Bhui draws together personal and professional experiences with current research evidence to provide a cogent analysis of the relationship between racism and mental health from both theoretical and experiential perspectives. The particular strength of this model is that it is anchored in the lived experiences of black service users... It] should be a call to action for all mental health practitioners.'

-Mental Health today

The book provides an excellent illustration of the extent of institutional racism, not just in mental health, but within the NHS as a whole and should be widely used particularly in education institutions and medical schools.'

- community practitioner

This thought-provoking book investigates the impact of racism (both conscious and unconscious) in mental health settings, covering individual clinical encounters and the broader picture of service provision. The authors offer insights into manifestations of racism in contemporary Britain; racial and cultural identity and the significance of these in psychotherapy; and the inequalities in provision of mental health services to minority ethnic communities. They consider the problems of racism and mental health, not in isolation but in the larger context of cultural difference and social inequalities, and also on the level of human relationships.

Bringing together the experiences of mental health professionals and incorporating a service user's perspective, this book provides many practical strategies for addressing racism and dealing with its effects in psychiatric work, and will prove useful and informative to practitioners in many areas of mental health work.

Kamaldeep Bhui is a Senior Lecturer in Social and Epidemiological Psychiatry at St Bartholomew’s and Royal London School of Dentistry, and is an Honorary Consultant at the Royal London Hospital.