• search hit 8 of 222
Back to Result List

A Cultural Psychological Theory of Mental Illness, Supported by Research in Saudi Arabia

  • This article proposes a theory of psychological disturbance (mental illness) as a cultural phenomenon. The theory is based on – and extends – the general cultural psychological theory of Vygotsky, Luria, and Leontiev, as well as the specific social approach to psychopathy of Fromm, Foucault, Laing, and Rieber. We demonstrate that the psychodynamics of individual disturbances are shaped by normative, macro cultural factors, such as gender norms, religious doctrine, family structure, architecture, and clothing. We illustrate this cultural psychological analysis of individual psychology with a case study of a 25 year old Saudi obsessive compulsive patient in Riyadh backed by 50 interviews with students about family relations in Saudi Arabia. We discuss the therapeutic and political implications of our cultural theory of psychological disturbance.

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar
Metadaten
Author:Carl Ratner, El-Sayed El-Badwi
Parent Title (English):Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, Vol. 20, No. 3-4 (2011), pp. 217-274, [Online ISSN 1573-658X] [doi.org/10.1179/105307811805472710]
Document Type:Articles
Language:English
Year of first Publication:2011
Release Date:2024/04/04
Format:to purchase via publisher
IdNo:Ratner_C_and_El-Badwi_E-S_2011
Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature):Articles / Artikel
Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive:Articles / Artikel
Licence (German):
Einverstanden ✔
Diese Webseite verwendet technisch erforderliche Session-Cookies. Durch die weitere Nutzung der Webseite stimmen Sie diesem zu. Unsere Datenschutzerklärung finden Sie hier.