Unless the psychiatrist or treating clinician was more familiar with the patient's respective culture, he certainly would treat it under our diagnostic system. The DSM itself frequently stresses the need to consider one's culture before making a diagnosis.slebetman wrote: I very much doubt that someone going 'amok' wouldn't be regarded as mentally unstable. I just want to point out that it isn't culture bound, it's just different cultures use different words for testosterone fueled rampage. Over here it's called 'amok'. In the US it's called 'going postal'.
According to the DSM, "there is seldom one-to-one equivalence of any culture-bound syndrome with a DSM diagnostic entity." It seems that most evidence shows these to be quite distinct, and therefor are also listed and classified separately.
Consider another, "mal de ojo," or the "evil eye." This is a concept found widely in Mediterranean cultures and elsewhere in the world. Children are especially considered to be at risk. Symptoms include fitful sleep, crying without apparent cause, diarrhea, vomiting, and fever in a child or infant. Sometimes adults (especially females) have the condition.
Of course we see these symptoms in the context of our own culture, but do people typically ascribe them to "the evil eye?" Are these particular psychologically disordered beliefs converted into this particular syndrome here? No, they're not, and that's why clinicians make the distinction. There is high potential for error in treatment if knowledge of these cultures aren't taken into consideration.
