Psychotherapy methods are mostly constructed by the Western societies and thus they might fail to address the social and cultural differences of other, non-Western societies. Different social and cultural factors account for the development of different norms in non-Western countries. Psychiatrists should take into account that there are different signs of psychological wellness and psychopathology in non-Western societies. Such social and cultural differences are considered to be underlying factors of different forms of psychopathologies that are predominantly observed in clinical settings among the Middle Eastern patients. Therefore, psychiatrists should consider administering the most appropriate therapeutic techniques based on such social and cultural differences. Authors also discuss the impact of medicalization of human suffering, reification of illness categories, and loss of moral meaning of being.
Key words: psychopathology, depression, psychotherapy, modernization, sadness
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