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.
MetadatenAuthor: | Carl Ratner, El-Sayed El-Badwi |
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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] |
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Document Type: | Articles |
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Language: | English |
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Year of first Publication: | 2011 |
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Release Date: | 2024/04/04 |
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Format: | to purchase via publisher |
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IdNo: | Ratner_C_and_El-Badwi_E-S_2011 |
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Writings about Erich Fromm (Secondary Literature): | Articles / Artikel |
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Erich Fromm's Library and Erich Fromm Archive: | Articles / Artikel |
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Licence (German): | |
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