Jamil Junejo

I am a psychiatrist with over 20 years of experience in clinical practice, academia, and mental health leadership, dedicated to advancing culturally responsive care in Pakistan and the Global South. As Chairman of Psychiatry at Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences (LUMHS), I integrate my clinical expertise with systemic advocacy to reform mental health education, policy, and service delivery.

My work is rooted in Cultural Psychiatry—adapting diagnostics and therapies to local idioms of distress, belief systems, and healing practices, particularly for marginalized communities and have pioneered efforts to bridge Western psychiatric frameworks with indigenous healing systems. As General Secretary of the Pakistan Psychiatric Society and advisor to provincial mental health committees, I’ve shaped policies that prioritize cultural congruence and equity.

I founded Pakistan’s first forensic psychiatry unit at Sir Cowasjee Jahangir Institute, championing mental health rights for prisoners through collaborations with the Supreme Court. My international engagements highlight my commitment to cross-cultural dialogue in psychiatry.

As General Secretary of the Pakistan Psychiatric Society and advisor to provincial mental health committees, I have shaped national policies that prioritize cultural congruence, including: Drafting Sindh's mental health reforms with culturally-sensitive provisions; Creating Pakistan's first provincial suicide prevention strategy incorporating local idioms of distress; Serving on the Supreme Court's Federal Review Board for mentally ill foreign prisoners, helping repatriate 300+ individuals

My publications in peer-reviewed journals focus on adapting diagnostics and therapies to South Asian contexts. Internationally, I've represented Pakistan's cultural psychiatry perspective at forums like Royal College of Psychiatrists Congress, World Psychiatric Association meetings, and multiple international events on transcultural mental health.