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An Anthropologist Among Disaster Caregivers 23

Conclusion

Collaboration requires both rapid response coupled with creating the
space to reflect by taking a step back and understanding the underlying
assumptions that govern our actions. We live in a world of interconnected
and, importantly, interdependent human cultures. We often fail to rec-
ognize our own possibilities for reaching across cultural divides or even
to see that our own assumptions inhibit our understanding. Adopting an
anthropological perspective, trying to understand how other people see
their worlds, and an awareness of the historically and culturally contin-
gent nature of our own construction of reality goes a long way in fostering
collaboration between mental health and spiritual care providers moving
toward shared goals in disaster work.

REFERENCES

Harrington, A. (2005). Uneasy alliances: The faith factor in medicine: The health
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(pp. 287–307). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Harrington, A. (2008). The cure within: A history of mind–body medicine. New
York: W.W. Norton.
Kleinman, A. & Benson P. (2006). Anthropology in the clinic: The problem of cul-
tural competency and how to fix it. PLoS Medical, 3(10). Retrieved October
24, 2009, from 294. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030294..
Moses, J. (2009). A new age of anxiety: Religion, spirituality and mental health in
disaster expertise. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, the Graduate Center,
City University of New York.