ABSTRACT
Finally, a Case Study will explore the skills that are necessary for caring for a person from another culture who has mental health problems.
CONCEPTS OF NORMALITY AND ABNORMALITY Culture determines what is perceived to be normal and abnormal within society. However, like the term ‘health’, the term ‘normal’ has different meanings in different contexts. The concept of normality is based on a shared set of beliefs and values that provide us with codes of behaviour. These principles guide how we speak, communicate, dress, eat, drink, pray and conduct ourselves in day-to-day life. In Western culture, for example, it is traditional for people to wear black clothes at funerals, and indeed the colour black is generally associated with death and mourning. This behaviour conveys to others the message that you are respectful of the dead person you are mourning. People may flout conventions, but generally they are aware of what usually constitutes socially acceptable behaviour and codes of conduct at important times.
