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Panic attacks and possession by djinns: lessons from ethnopsychiatry.
Nicola Luigi Bragazzi1, Giovanni Del Puente
1School of Public Health, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
Psychology Research and Behavior Management
|January 8, 2013
Summary
Psychiatrists must understand patient culture and religion for accurate diagnosis. Integrating cultural context with psychopathology effectively treated a young Muslim woman's anxiety and panic attacks.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Cultural Psychiatry
- Transcultural Psychotherapy
Background:
- Cultural and religious contexts significantly influence patient perceptions of illness and distress.
- Understanding a patient's inner world requires exploring culturally embedded symbols, meanings, and myths.
- Psychiatric care necessitates an awareness of how cultural beliefs shape the expression of mental health conditions.
Observation:
- A 19-year-old Muslim patient of Italo-Tunisian descent presented with anxiety and panic attacks, attributing her symptoms to djinn possession.
- A culturally informed interview was conducted, supplemented by psychometric assessments like the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised and the Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness.
- The patient's presentation highlighted the intersection of religious beliefs (djinn possession) with psychiatric symptoms.
Findings:
- A multidimensional assessment informed the treatment approach.
- The patient received transcultural psychotherapy combined with fluoxetine.
- Following a year of treatment and follow-up, the patient reported a complete resolution of panic disorder episodes.
Implications:
- This case underscores the critical importance of cultural competence in psychiatric assessment and treatment.
- A combined anthropological, sociological, and psychopathological approach is essential for effective management of culturally complex cases.
- Tailoring interventions to the patient's cultural and religious framework enhances therapeutic outcomes in psychiatry.
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