The new mental health law in Argentina.

The Argentinean Congreso de la Nacion (National Congress, or Parliament) approved in November 2010 a new Mental Health Law (MHL) (Law 26657, 'Salud Publica. Derecho a la Proteccion de la Salud Mental' [Public Health. The Right to Protect Mental Health]).

Psychiatry beyond the current paradigm.

A series of editorials in this Journal have argued that psychiatry is in the midst of a crisis. The various solutions proposed would all involve a strengthening of psychiatry's identity as essentially 'applied neuroscience'. Although not discounting the importance of the brain sciences and psychopharmacology, we argue that psychiatry needs to move beyond the dominance of the current, technological paradigm.

Mental health in Argentina.

Argentina, the second largest country in South America, is a federation of 23 provinces and its capital, the autonomous city of Buenos Aires. Its population is a little over 40 million, 50% of whom reside in its five largest metropolitan areas. The rural areas are extensively underpopulated.

Working conditions and job satisfaction of Argentinian psychiatrists: initial results of a comprehensive survey.

Working in psychiatry is generally rewarding. However, it can also lack job satisfaction and be detrimental to personal life. Research findings indicate high rates of burnout (Kumar , 2007), impaired health status of practitioners (Korkeila , 2003), negative effects of violence in the workplace (Inoue , 2006) and lack of job satisfaction (Fischer , 2007; Bressi , 2009).

Expanding the bounds of military psychiatry: three clinical encounters.

This paper deals with clinical situations frequently encountered in military psychiatry. Using three narratives of soldiers assessed at the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) during a period of marked conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the author portrays ethical dilemmas generated during assessments for fitness to go to combat. When the focus of the assessment is the soldier's refusal to serve in the army, particularly during periods of increased conflict, the psychiatrist faces a dilemma because of double loyalties, to the army of which he is a part, and to the soldier and his right to live.

The implication of transcultural psychiatry for clinical practice.

This article deals with the main concepts of Transcultural Psychiatry and their applications to everyday psychiatric practice. Transcultural psychiatry has undergone a conceptual reformulation in the last two decades. Having started with a comparative approach, which focused on the diverse manifestations of mental disorders among different societies, it broadened its scope, aiming at present to incorporate social and cultural aspects of illness into the clinical framework.