Systems of Care in Asia

Abstract

It is only in recent years that some of the many countries in Asia have begun to actively develop child mental health and psychiatric services. The major reason is likely to be that it has not been long since western medicine, per se, was introduced to the region. It took even longer for the subspecialties like child psychiatry to be recognized as being needed and some adventurous young psychiatrists to go abroad for subspecialty training and come back to begin the service. This does not mean that children’s mental health services were not provided in these countries before western medicine was introduced. Professionals were available to intervene in children’s emotional and behavioral problems. In fact, pediatricians, family physicians, and other allied professions such as teachers and clergyman delivered services in their own way.

For technical reasons no section on Taiwan could be included in this chapter.