الطب النفسي في الثقافة العربية : نظرة عامة و ملاحظات مهنية

Abstract EN

In the current paper, Arabic cultural psychiatry and cultural background of the mental health of Arabs are investigated.

Awareness of concepts in Arab culture, customs, relationship patterns and ways of verbal and non-verbal communication help the understanding of psychiatric conditions in Arab patients.

The influence of the Arabic language on expression and presentation of mental illness is discussed.

Concepts and beliefs about mental illness in Arab culture include sorcery, possession by “Jin” and the effect of evil eye.

Public negative attitudes to mental illness are discussed together with the stigma attached to psychiatry in Arab culture.

There are certain implications of the extended family pattern and gender role (role of women) in psychiatry in Arab communities.

Regarding psychopathology and presentation of mental disorders in Arab patients, there are certain variations in features and presenting symptoms.

One of the main professional observations is the preponderance of somatic complaints as an indirect expression of psychiatric conditions.

Affective disorders, schizophrenia, conversion reaction and OCD are among the psychiatric disorders, which tend to have characteristic presentation in Arab patients.

In the current review, certain professional observations about therapy for mental disorders in Arab culture are discussed.

Among the therapeutic practices and modalities described in Arab culture are lay methods of treatment, traditional healers’ practices, visiting the shrines and “El-Zar “, in addition to modern psychiatric services.

Based on the discussion of these professional observations about psychiatry in Arab culture, further research into cultural psychiatric phenomena and investigation of the influence of culture on psychiatry in Arab communities is recommended.