The Foundation for Psychocultural Research
Encyclopedia
The Foundation for Psychocultural Research (The FPR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
based in Los Angeles that supports and advances interdisciplinary research and scholarship at the intersection of psychology, culture, neuroscience, and psychiatry, with an emphasis on cultural factors as central, not peripheral.
(UCLA).
Dr. Lemelson is a research anthropologist in the Center for Culture and Health at the Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and an assistant adjunct professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Psychology at UCLA. His research interests include Southeast-Asian studies, psychological anthropology, and transcultural psychiatry, with an emphasis on interactions between personal experience, culture, and mental illness in Indonesia and the United States. Dr. Lemelson also supports the UCLA Indonesian Studies Program, which was created in 2008 as part of UCLA's Center for Southeast Asian Studies within the UCLA International Institute. He is also the founder and CEO of Elemental Productions, an ethnographic film production company.
In keeping with the goal of bringing together culture and neuroscience to address a common set of issues, Dr. Robert Lemelson and the FPR have expanded the funding of the FPR-UCLA CBD to include a new program for Culture, Brain, Development, and Mental Health (CBDMH).
The primary objective of the new program, which is co-directed by psychological anthropologist Doug Hollan of UCLA and cultural psychologist Steve López of USC, is to establish a strong program in cultural psychiatry, with an emphasis on integrating neuroscience and social science perspectives. The research initiative is based around ongoing, sustainable field sites and programs in various locations across the globe. A training component is embedded within each of the ongoing research projects.
In addition, through a series of workshops, conferences, the FPR brings together scholars, researchers, and clinicians with overlapping interests to think across disciplinary boundaries and address issues of fundamental clinical and social concern. Several participants from these meetings have contributed papers to two major volumes that are important integrative contributions to the fields of developmental psychobiology
, cultural and biological anthropology
, and the study of psychological trauma
: Understanding Trauma: Integrating Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2007), edited by cultural psychiatrist Laurence Kirmayer (McGill University
), Robert Lemelson, and physician/neuroscientist Mark Barad (UCLA), and Formative Experiences: The Interaction of Caregiving, Culture, and Developmental Psychobiology (Cambridge University Press, 2010), edited by biocultural anthropologist Carol M. Worthman (Emory University
), developmental psychobiologist Paul M. Plotsky (Emory University
), child psychiatrist Daniel Schechter
(Université de Genève), and FPR program director Constance A. Cummings. A third volume ("Revisioning Psychiatry: Integrating Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives"), which is in progress, is based on the FPR’s 4th interdisciplinary conference, "Cultural and Biological Contexts of Psychiatric Disorder: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment," which was held at UCLA in January 2010.
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
based in Los Angeles that supports and advances interdisciplinary research and scholarship at the intersection of psychology, culture, neuroscience, and psychiatry, with an emphasis on cultural factors as central, not peripheral.
History
The FPR was founded in December 1999 with a gift from Robert B. Lemelson, a documentary filmmaker and psychological anthropologist on the faculty of the University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA).
Dr. Lemelson is a research anthropologist in the Center for Culture and Health at the Jane & Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and an assistant adjunct professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Psychology at UCLA. His research interests include Southeast-Asian studies, psychological anthropology, and transcultural psychiatry, with an emphasis on interactions between personal experience, culture, and mental illness in Indonesia and the United States. Dr. Lemelson also supports the UCLA Indonesian Studies Program, which was created in 2008 as part of UCLA's Center for Southeast Asian Studies within the UCLA International Institute. He is also the founder and CEO of Elemental Productions, an ethnographic film production company.
Activities
The FPR is a key supporter of the FPR-UCLA Center for Culture, Brain, and Development (CBD) and the FPR-Hampshire College Program in Culture, Brain, and Development. The FPR CBD programs foster integrative, cross-disciplinary research that focuses on how culture and context interact with brain development.In keeping with the goal of bringing together culture and neuroscience to address a common set of issues, Dr. Robert Lemelson and the FPR have expanded the funding of the FPR-UCLA CBD to include a new program for Culture, Brain, Development, and Mental Health (CBDMH).
The primary objective of the new program, which is co-directed by psychological anthropologist Doug Hollan of UCLA and cultural psychologist Steve López of USC, is to establish a strong program in cultural psychiatry, with an emphasis on integrating neuroscience and social science perspectives. The research initiative is based around ongoing, sustainable field sites and programs in various locations across the globe. A training component is embedded within each of the ongoing research projects.
In addition, through a series of workshops, conferences, the FPR brings together scholars, researchers, and clinicians with overlapping interests to think across disciplinary boundaries and address issues of fundamental clinical and social concern. Several participants from these meetings have contributed papers to two major volumes that are important integrative contributions to the fields of developmental psychobiology
Developmental psychobiology
Developmental psychobiology is an interdisciplinary field, encompassing developmental psychology, biological psychology, neuroscience and many other areas of biology. The field covers all phases of ontogeny, with particular emphasis on prenatal, perinatal and early childhood development...
, cultural and biological anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, and the study of psychological trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
: Understanding Trauma: Integrating Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, 2007), edited by cultural psychiatrist Laurence Kirmayer (McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
), Robert Lemelson, and physician/neuroscientist Mark Barad (UCLA), and Formative Experiences: The Interaction of Caregiving, Culture, and Developmental Psychobiology (Cambridge University Press, 2010), edited by biocultural anthropologist Carol M. Worthman (Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
), developmental psychobiologist Paul M. Plotsky (Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
), child psychiatrist Daniel Schechter
Daniel Schechter
Daniel S. Schechter is an American psychiatrist currently living in Geneva, Switzerland. He is known for his clinical work and research on intergenerational transmission or "communication" of violent trauma and related psychopathology involving parents and very young children...
(Université de Genève), and FPR program director Constance A. Cummings. A third volume ("Revisioning Psychiatry: Integrating Biological, Clinical, and Cultural Perspectives"), which is in progress, is based on the FPR’s 4th interdisciplinary conference, "Cultural and Biological Contexts of Psychiatric Disorder: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment," which was held at UCLA in January 2010.