McGill.CA / Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry / Network

TCPSYCH: Transcultural Psychiatry mailing list/discussion group

TCPSYCH mailing list

The TCPSYCH mailing list is now open to individuals working with or interested in culturally informed mental health issues around the world.

What is TCPSYCH?

TCPSYCH is the Transcultural Psychiatry Mailing List. I started this mailing list in the Summer of 1998, following the interest of those participating in the Summer Program in Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University, Montreal Canada. The forum was conceived to provide an opportunity for members to discuss material related to transcultural psychiatry. This clearly covers a broad range of issues and topics, and over time the group has attracted professionals and scholars from various disciplines and locations, slowly growing to a global forum that now consists of hundreds of members around the world bringing their clinical, acadimic, intellectual and cultural knowledge and expertise to our ongoing discussions of culture and mental health.

Who uses TCPSYCH?

As I said, TCPSYCH was originally established as a place where those who had participated in the Transcultural Psychiatry seminars at McGill could re-visit and continue topics of relevance. Participants are from a wide range of backgrounds, including, though not limited to:

  • postdoctoral trainees, researchers and clinicians interested in the relationship between culture and mental health
  • graduate students in health and social sciences, psychiatric residences
  • nurses, psychologists, social workers, physicians and other health professionals interested in the significance of culture for mental health issues

What do they talk about in TCPSYCH?

While no rigid frames are considered to delimit topics discussed in our forum, it would be fair to say the general framework remains 'culture and mental health'. This is obviously a wide and open criteria, and it would seem futile to produce a 'list' of items that can be considered relevant. The decision of what is or is not relevant to the list is thus left to participants. Members are invited to consider the following general guidelines:

  • avoid excessively frequent postings. The average TCPSYCH member is a person with much to do, little time, and not a great fan of new technologies. The idea that 'they can just hit the delete button' just doesn't work for many of us, so please consider their traffic burden.
  • avoid excessively long postings where possible. I have not set the program to low tolerance for length, but people usually don't have the patience of reading very long postings.
  • avoid attaching large documents to your posting. I have set the program so that it does accept and distribute your attached documents, but please be considerate of those of us living in places where access to fast internet is not an option.
  • last but certainly not least, avoid excessively provocative content or points of view where possible. This is not to discourage controversial issues, but please use discretion and consideration to avoid burdening other members who may not be prepared to hear some content or arguments, as true or as important as they may be to you.

How do I join TCPSYCH?

It is easy!

  • If you are interested in joining TCPSYCH you should send a registration request directly to the listserv program. The email address of the listserv program is: LISTSERV [at] LISTS.MCGILL.CA. In this email you should leave the subject line blank, and the body of your email should contain only the following (one) line:
    SUB TCPSYCH Firstname Lastname (Replace the Firstname and Lastname with your first and last names.)
  • If you experience difficulty using this method, you can contact us directly and ask us to process your request manually for you. Feel free to contact Andie Clerici at antonella.clerici [at] mail.mcgill.ca for that.
  • Alternatively, you can remove yourself using the TCPSYCH Web Interface page. This option might be easier if you don't feel very comfortable with email programs.

How do I leave TCPSYCH?

It is easy!

  • If you would like to end your subscription to TCPSYCH, you should send a SIGNOFF request directly to the listserv program. The email address of the listserv program is: LISTSERV [at] LISTS.MCGILL.CA. In this email you should leave the subject line blank, and the body of your email should contain only the following (one) line:
    SIGNOFF TCPSYCH
  • If you experience difficulty using this method, you can contact us directly and ask us to process your request manually for you. Feel free to contact Andie Clerici at antonella.clerici [at] mail.mcgill.ca for that.
  • Alternatively, you can remove yourself using the TCPSYCH Web Interface page. This option might be easier if you don't feel very comfortable with email programs.

How do I post to TCPSYCH?

  • Once you have completed your subscription to TCPSYCH, you can post your messages for all others who subscribe to the mailing list by sending it to the listserv program. Simply address your email to: TCPSYCH [at] LISTS.MCGILL.CA, and it will be distributed to all list members.
  • Please note that your postings must be submitted from the email address you have made subscription for. The machine recognizes your email address, not your name.
  • Alternatively, you can post your messages through the TCPSYCH Web Interface page. This option might be easier if you don't feel very comfortable with email programs.

What other commands can I use with TCPSYCH?

For the really curious, there is always more to learn.
A 38 page General User's Guide is now available and can be viewed online or downloaded here in a variety of word processing formats. Help yourself!

Are earlier postings archived or available anywhere?

Yes.
As of the 3rd week of September 2000, TCPSYCH postings will be accessible on the Web through a searchable archive. You can go to the TCPSYCH Web Interface page to access the archive.

I need a more detailed manual for using listservs.

As I said, there is always more to learn. The 38 page General User's Guide provides additional instructions for using listserv programs. It is fortunately available, and can be viewed online or downloaded here in a variety of word processing formats. Enjoy!

I need more information about TCPSYCH.

Good! Then contact Andie Clerici at antonella.clerici [at] mail.mcgill.ca and ask your question, or just go ahead, join the TCPSYCH list and find out for yourself!

Back to top