Mental health and North American Indian/Native communities: Cultural transactions,education, and regulation

Critical issues in the delivery of mental health services to North American Indians/Natives residing in rural areas are discussed by describing Indian populations/communities; briefly summarizing available literature concerning the nature of mental health problems within Indian communities; examining Indian belief systems relevant to participation in mental health service delivery processes; exploring community expectations for structuring participatory interactions which may inhibit utilization of mental health services; and describing transactions between Indian consumers and non-Indian professionals which have become typical over time. The rural context was examined as it interacts with individual and community characteristics to affect Indian mental health. Relations between geography and culture, important in understanding the mental health problems of Indian people, are discussed in regard to expanding community healing resources through empowerment, and viewing "education as transformation" as a key concept in enhancing community healing processes.     

Neosentimentalism and the valence of attitudes

Neosentimentalist accounts of value need an explanation of which of the sentiments they discuss are pro-attitudes, which attitudes are con-attitudes, and why. I argue that this project has long been neglected in the philosophical literature, even by those who make extensive use of the distinction between pro- and con-attitudes. Using the attitudes of awe and respect as exemplars, I argue that it is not at all clear what if anything makes these attitudes pro-attitudes. I conclude that neither our intuitive sense of the distinction nor the vague accounts of it that exist in the philosophical literature are especially helpful in sorting out the hard cases. What is needed is a more explicit and thorough account of what the valence of our attitudes consists in.