Global Mental Health

The history and future of mental health around the world.

by Amir A. Afkhami, M.D., Ph.D.

Christmas Blues

For some Christmas is a period with at least some kind of disappointment, anxiety, or even sadness, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Read More

Psychiatric Trouble May Start in the Thyroid, Should We Be Surprised?

Doctors often overlook the underlying hormonal basis of psychiatric disorders. Read More

Why Ahmadinejad Thinks He's So Special

Ahmadinejad’s exaggerated sense of himself as being uniquely special, unusually talented, and better qualified than other leaders on the world stage is typical of individuals struggling with narcissistic personality disorder. Read More

A Doctor in Iraq, Watching a Faith Healer at Work

Laser focus on the patient impresses an American psychiatrist in Iraq

The charred remains of cars and motorcycles, from a recent suicide bomb, litters the parking lot adjacent to the heavily fortified Canadian military base in Kandehar—a graphic warning that the Taliban are at the Coalition’s gates. Read More

Helping Heroes and Screening the Disaster Tourists

A call for increased mental health screening and contingencies by NGOs during disasters. Read More

A Very Unhappy Anniversary: Delving into the Mind of Iran’s Islamic Republic

On the 31st anniversary of the foundation of Iran's Islamic Republic we will attempt the difficult task of empathizing with the Iranian leadership's behavior in an attempt to understand what seems to make them tic: Read More

Looking for Sexy: The Disparity of Mental Health in Global Public Health

There is just as much of an economic justification for investing in cost-effective mental health care as there is in interventions for other chronic conditions such as anti-retroviral therapy for AIDS. Read More

Amir A. Afkhami, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Global Health at the George Washington University.

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