The Americanization of mental illness

An essay--adopted from Ethan Waters' upcoming book, Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche--touching upon the many ways in which America is "homogenizing the way the world goes mad":

Even when the underlying science is sound and the intentions altruistic, the export of Western biomedical ideas can have frustrating and unexpected consequences. For the last 50-odd years, Western mental-health professionals have been pushing what they call “mental-health literacy” on the rest of the world. Cultures became more “literate” as they adopted Western biomedical conceptions of diseases like depression and schizophrenia. One study published in The International Journal of Mental Health, for instance, portrayed those who endorsed the statement that “mental illness is an illness like any other” as having a “knowledgeable, benevolent, supportive orientation toward the mentally ill.”

The entire essay is absolutely fascinating, and I can't wait to read the book. It's incredible (and frightening) to think of Western biomedical diagnostics catching on in other countries as quickly as Coca-Cola, especially when you consider the way we recklessly medicate patients and prescribe drugs these days.