Universalism and its Others: Transcultural psychiatry and Swedish exceptionalism after 1945

Abstract

This article traces the historical development of transcultural psychiatry in Sweden from the post-Second World War period to the early 21st century. It argues that the field emerged at the intersection of welfare universalism, humanitarian internationalism, and clinical encounters with migration-related distress. Shaped by labor migration and later refugee reception, Swedish transcultural psychiatry became strongly oriented toward trauma, particularly in relation to war and displacement. While this focus helped institutionalize specialized services and legitimize migrant suffering within psychiatric care, it also individualized structurally produced distress. The article further examines how Swedish exceptionalist self-understandings - especially notions of colorblindness and moral humanitarianism - both enabled and constrained the field, contributing to the relative neglect of racism and the mental health of national minorities.