Runajambi and the Transcultural
Psychiatric Section, World Psychiatric Association 2005 Symposium
encouraged scholarly discussions about the unsuspecting partnership of
psychiatrists and traditional healers from around the world.
Concomitantly, the meeting in Quito facilitated a friendly and unique
encounter of transcultural psychiatrists with Yachactaitas (Quichua-Inca
traditional healers) of the Andes.
The main goal of this meeting was to
provide the most up-to-date exposure to innovative interdisciplinary
research and initiatives on healer-physicians collaborations in the
Americas. The meeting focused on the achievements of the
Indigenous and Western medical systems collaborative endeavors for the
betterment of physical and mental health of the Indigenous Peoples of
the Americas
This was an engaging discussion of the
most innovate research being conducted in the field of computer-mind
interactions. In the March session, the audience learned that
computers can assist research and treatment, but daily computer use
can also cause stress. Currently, virtual reality is used to treat
phobias and computer chips to restore vision. The April session was a
lively discussion of the beneficial and harmful effects of Internet
and computer usage on mental health. The Luce Seminar attracted a
diverse audience of students, professors, and community members.
This was a highly successful series of
high-caliber speakers. It has been one of the most popular Luce
Faculty Seminar themes. Health inequalities and disparities according
to ethnicity, age, gender and health conditions were examined.
The timing of our seminar was remarkable and the issues raised were in
line with the Institute of Medicine's breakthrough report:
"Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in
Health Care." More information on this report could be found at Unequal
Treatment
Original, interdisciplinary research
on the nature, mechanisms, and effectiveness of alternative and
complementary medicines has been presented. A very successful
series on a current topic that attracted many people both from the
Claremont Colleges and the surrounding communities.
The most up-to-date exposure to
innovative and interdisciplinary research on the interactions between
the fine arts practices, brain/mind, and physical and mental health.
We also covered amazing research on the relationship between artistic
creativity and mental disorders.
The lecture topics have been selected with the general idea of
illustrating the workings of the embodied mind and the environmentally
embedded brain.
An innovative interdisciplinary and
cross-cultural effort for understanding some aspects of the human mind
was undertaken for the first time at Pitzer, Claremont McKenna, and
Harvey Mudd Colleges. The Luce Faculty Seminar on "Culture,
Brain, Mind, and Medicine" was held during the past spring (from
January 26 to April 20, 1999). The lectures were open to the public
and attracted professionals and lay persons from the surrounding
communities. Overall, approximately 500 participants took advantage of
the event.
