The presentation of many psychosomatic disorders is culturally bound and cannot be understood in isolation from the original cultural, historical, and idiomatic stressors that are unique in their manifestations, and wouldn’t be understood unless they were put in their proper contexts.

This led ACGME to issue a recommendation designating cultural psychiatry as a separate competency, along with the other six competencies needed in the training of the psychiatrist.

Our SIG is concerned with shedding light on this aspect by introducing evidence-based knowledge and in the sharing of experiences of international psychiatrists of different backgrounds, as well as local psychiatrists who had the opportunity to work abroad and gain superior knowledge in dealing with different peoples from different backgrounds.

Our SIG is also interested in shedding light on special global problems like the psychosomatic issues experienced by refugees, displaced people, migrant workers, and human trafficking victims.

The current chair of the Global & Cultural SIG is Shuchi Khosla, MD.

Goals and Activities

1. Provide networking, support, and collaboration opportunities among consultation-liaison psychiatrists who are interested in the field of cultural and global psychiatry across the world.
2. Promote a learning environment that allows for ongoing discussion of challenging cases and news and changes in the field.
3. Collaborate in research activities and publish manuscripts such as case reports, case series, and literature reviews.
4. Enhance communication between our SIG members through the year, with the aim of organizing a symposium or workshop at the ACLP yearly meeting.

How to Join

ACLP members: to join our SIG, you simply need to update your ACLP membership profile. Under “Your Special Interest Group Subscriptions,” check the “Global and Cultural Psychiatry” box.  Allow 24 hours to take effect.

Non-ACLP members: please send an email indicating your field of interest, full name, organization, and telephone number to info@clpsychiatry.org (email link includes CC to the co-chairs of the SIG).