Contemporary Topics in Women's Mental Health Global perspectives in a changing society

This book takes a distinctive global and multicultural approach to women's mental health. It summarizes recent advances in the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, reproductive health and psychopharmacology. It demonstrates that women's mental health and psychiatric disorders cannot be divorced from social, cultural and political realities. The book recognises the impact on women of rapid social change and stresses such as migration, war and violence, especially on women caring for children and families.Specific sections address reproductive health, the impact of changes and life challenges, service delivery and ethics, and social policies that affect women's mental health. There are important chapters exploring pregnancy and the postpartum period, the consequences of female genital mutilation, and migration and mental health. There is also a chapter capturing experiential stories of women with mental illness from different countries and contexts. Each section is introduced by a commentary from the Editors highlighting key issues. This is an invaluable resource for all those interested in women's mental health.

Prabha S. Chandra is a Professor of Psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India. She has served as a member of the WPA section on women’s mental health and is the first person from a developing country to be elected to the executive of the Marce International Perinatal Psychiatry Society.   She has also been a convener and chairperson of the Task force on women’s mental health of the Indian Psychiatric Society.

Her main research contributions in the areas of women’s mental health have been in perinatal psychiatry, psychosomatic obsetrics and gynecology and the role of violence in women with mental illness. Prof. Chandra has received several national awards for research in womens mental health.  She has been a member of the Advisory group on HIV Behavioral Research of the Indian Council of Medical Research and has also served as a Temporary Advisor to the WHO and UNAIDS.  She has about 90 publications in the above areas of research and has edited several books and training manuals.

Helen Herrman is Director of Academic Programs at the Australian International Health Institute, University of Melbourne, and Professor in Public Health and Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. From 1992 to 2005, she was Professor and Director of Psychiatry in St. Vincent's Mental Health Service (SVMHS) Melbourne. She is Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for research and training in mental health at the University of Melbourne and St Vincent's Health. In 2005 she was elected as Secretary for Publications and member of the Executive Committee of the WPA. She is Vice President of the International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology.  Her interests include mental health promotion, the assessment of outcomes and quality of life for people with mental illnesses, the link between mental health and HIV infection, and the delivery of mental health services.

Marianne Kastrup was Medical Director of the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims, Copenhagen (1997-2001) and is now Head of the Centre Transcultural Psychiatry, Psychiatric. Dept. Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.  She is the Zonal Representative for the WPA and has served on various committees for both the WPA and the European Association of Psychiatry.

Marta Rondon, assistant professor at Cayetano Heredia University, is a Founder of the Peruvian Association for Women's Mental Health and was Chair of the Section of Women's Mental Health of the World Psychiatric Association.  She was the first woman to be President of the Peruvian Psychiatric Association and is a recipient of the Medal of Honor of the Peruvian College of Physicians..  Formerly Director General of the Office for Older People, Ministry of Women and Social Development in Peru, she currently sits on the National Committee on Mental Health and the High Level Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Peruvian College of Physicians.  Marta works at the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hopsital, where she supervises services for chronic psychiatric patients and sits on the hospital's committee against gender based violence.

Dr Unaiza Niaz is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist who is the Director of The Psychiatric Clinic & Stress Research Center, Karachi.  She is the President & Founder Member of the Pakistan Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, a Life Member of  The Pakistan Psychiatric Society, and was previously Vice President and Secretary General. She is a life member of the World Federation of Mental Health, American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, London.  She trained at The Royal Free Hospital, the Tavistock Clinic, Hampstead, London and The Johns Hopkins University, USA. Her research interests are Stress management, Women’s Issues, Medical Health Policy and Post- Graduate Education.  She has numerous scientific publications in international journals and has authored several books: Emerging Images of Pakistani Women, Stress Management and The Psychosocial Profile of Pakistani Women, published by Karachi University, and a landmark Monograph on Womens Mental Health In Pakistan.  She has also edited Medical Ethics in Contemporary Era and Pakistan Earthquake—International Perspectives on Handling Psycho-Trauma. Presently, she is Co-Chair of the WPA Section on Women’s Mental Health and an Advisor to the National Commission on the Status of Women—Pakistan.

Ahmed Okasha is Professor and Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Training and Research in Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry – Ain Shams University, Cairo. He is President of the Egyptian Psychiatric Association and of the Egyptian Society of Biological Psychiatry, as well as a Past President of the World Psychiatric Association. Professor Okasha is on the Editorial Advisory Board of 20 International Scientific Journals, an Honorary Fellow of The American College of Psychiatrists (2002) and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh, 1973) and of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (London, 1973).

Jane Fisher

Deputy Director and Coordinator of International Programs