Forging a new dimension of black psychiatry in the Caribbean

ABSTRACT

There is a concerted effort among many black politicians, academics and writers to paint the Caribbean with a black brush, unmindful of the presence and contribution of other ethnic groups within the Caribbean region. The recent upsurge of black consciousness among Afro-Caribbean people is necessary, but not at the detriment of other ethnic groups who have also contributed to the social, economic and cultural lifestyles of the Caribbean. Attempts to foist a version of United States imported black psychiatry in Jamaica with the introduction of a curriculum in black psychology have raised some concern among Trinidadian students studying there. In this chapter, A Trinidadian Psychologist who studied in the Jamaican system discusses the concept of Black Psychiatry and its relevance to the Caribbean.