BOOK REVIEW
Abstract
Journal of Mental Health, April 2012 21(2): 210â212 © 2012 Informa UK, Ltd. ISSN: 0963-8237 print / ISSN 1360-0567 online DOI: 10.3109/09638237.2011.629243 BOOK REVIEW Space, place and mental health Sarah Curtis (Geographies of Health Series) Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2010 299 pp., £65 hdbk ISBN 978-0-7546-7331-6 A sociology of mental health and illness Anne Rogers & David Pilgrim 4th ed., Maidenhead: McGraw Hill/Open University Press, 2010 327 pp., £26.99 pbk ISBN 978-0-335-23665-7 Crazy like us: the globalization of the Western mind Ethan Watters London: Constable & Robinson, 2010 328 pp., £6.49 pbk ISBN 978-1-84901-577-6 Even the most scientific and detached physician must eventually become aware of the social, cultural and environmental factors behind the disorders he treats. The liver surgeon must have noticed and should comment on the effects of an alcohol-based culture on his workload, just as a diabetes specialist should be aware of what people eat and drink in different societies. The link is even clearer in the treatment of mental disorders. No-one has yet found âtheâ gene or germ for schizophrenia or depression, although there are numerous genetic and organic factors which are implicated. Social, cultural and environmental factors have a strong influence on the incidence