People in Cambodia experience what we Americans call depression. But there's no direct translation for the word "depression" in the Cambodian Khmer language. Instead, people may say thelea tdeuk ceut, which literally means "the water in my heart has fallen."

Anxious or depressed Haitians, on the other hand, may use the phrase reflechi twop, which means "thinking too much." And in parts of Nepal and India, people use the English word "tension."

Mental distress is a universal condition. The World Health Organization has made global access to mental health care one of its key goals.

But just as words for depression and anxiety get lost in translation, so can treatments. (...)