Psychiatric colonialism, PTSD and the Western psychiatric diagnostic tradition . . . is one man's food another man's poison?

Abstract

Sadly, much of the world is no stranger to Psychological Trauma, particularly in poorer areas with poor health infrastructure. Western Aid Organisations frequently deploy to such areas bringing with them a western psychiatric tradition of nosology and therapy which may not be appropriate in other cultures. We argue that imposing a western system of diagnosis and treatment may not only undermine local culture but may also be bad for the patient. We discuss this with reference to the WHO's Mental Health Gap initiative (MHGap).