The last decades have seen increasing recognition of the influence of culture on life and mental health. Culture impacts all aspects of mental illness, reflecting the need to provide culturally relevant care for all patients, especially those who face barriers to quality treatment. In addition, rapid social and cultural change, including migration within and between nations, has meant that societies worldwide are becoming more multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. There is growing awareness of the need to improve the cultural competence of mental health services to provide valid psychiatric care to every patient, regardless of cultural background. Related to this awareness, there is a desire to study and disseminate information on the influence of culture on psychological well-being, emotional stress and mental illness, and mental health care around the world. This desire led an international group of scholars in cultural psychiatry to organize the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry.