LONGLONG: Transcultural Psychiatry in Papua New Guinea

B.G. Burton-Bradley

Port Moresby

:

Public Health Department

,

1977

.
Reprint.

25cm x 18cm. iv, 334 pages. Lettered paper, cloth spine.

Burton-Bradley was appointed Papua New Guinea’s first and only psychiatrist from 1959-69. ‘Long long’ is a native term for insanity. This unique and detailed work is a report on mental illness in the territory. A pioneer of transcultural psychiatry, Burton-Bradley uses conventional western psychiatric method, while also acknowledging custom, folklore, traditional beliefs, and the impact of colonisation on specific disorders. The work includes discussion of ‘New Guinea Syndromes’ including amok, cargo cult, and arecolinism, as well as ‘Psychiatric Hazards of Acculturation’ such as forgery, coprophemia, and addictions. The author illustrates with statistics, case studies, and reference to psychiatrists in other indigenous populations, concluding with detailed recommendations for changes from the legislative to the individual practitioner level. Appendices show research data, questionnaires in English and the native tongue.

General wear with some soiling to covers and edges. Internally bright. Good Condition.