title: Reflections on the road to becoming a cultural psychiatrist.
abstract: The reasons why I became a transcultural psychiatrist in a country considered to be culturally homogeneous are presented. Efforts to nurture cultural psychiatry in Japan through the activities of the Japanese Society of Transcultural Psychiatry are described. Experiences in Vancouver, Canada in the 1980s formed the basis of my cultural psychiatric research. Research on the mental health of Japanese community in Vancouver and on ethnic minorities in Japan is discussed. Specific examples are included to explain how unique Japanese cultural traits can affect diagnosis and treatment. The future of Japanese cultural psychiatry in a global context is considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Welfare, Faculty of Human Studies, Taisho University, 3-20-1 Nishi-Sugamo, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan. f_noda@mail.tais.ac.jp
authors.forename: Fumitaka
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Noda
mesh_terms: D001955:British Columbia; D002321:Career Choice; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology; D005008:Ethnopsychology / Q000193:education* / Q000639:trends*; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000208:ethnology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000639:trends; D019303:Multilingualism; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology; D010819:Physician's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D012945:Social Values