Ethical Thinking: International
Mental
Health
Activities
and
Communities
Janaka Jayawickrama
Volume 8, Number 1 (2009) 8 (1): 6-18
Keywords Ethics, Mental Health, Psychosocial Support, Natural Disasters, Conflict-Affected Countries, Cultural Differences, Talk Therapy, Human Response, Atrocity, Western Mental Health Interventions, Ethical Considerations in Mental Health, International Humanitarian Agencies, Community-Centered Perspectives, Psychological Responses to Disasters, Community Mental Health
Abstract
This piece examines the ethical considerations surrounding international mental health activities in conflict and disaster-affected communities, highlighting the gap in psychosocial interventions and the lack of monitoring mechanisms for mental health practitioners. It questions the appropriateness of Western-style mental health interventions and emphasizes the importance of fair dealings with affected communities. It also discusses the lack of ethical supervision and training in mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings, critiquing the reliance on 'talk therapy' in non-Western contexts and advocating for flexible ethical frameworks. Last, it delves into the challenges of researching human responses to war and atrocity, emphasizing the limitations of Western psychiatric models and exploring cultural and social dynamics beyond trauma.
Janaka Jayawickrama
Published January 1, 2009
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 Janaka Jayawickrama (Author)
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