Abstract
In the aftermath of a decade-long Maoist civil war in Nepal and the recent relocation of thousands of Bhutanese refugees from Nepal to Western countries, there has been rapid growth of mental health and psychosocial support programs, including posttraumatic stress disorder treatment, for Nepalis and ethnic Nepali Bhutanese. This medical anthropology study describes the process of identifying Nepali idioms of distress and local ethnopsychology and ethnophysiology models that promote effective communication about psychological trauma in a manner that minimizes stigma for service users. Psychological trauma is shown to be a multifaceted concept that has no single linguistic corollary in the Nepali study population. Respondents articulated different categories of psychological trauma idioms in relation to impact on the heart-mind, brain-mind, body, spirit, and social status, with differences in perceived types of traumatic events, symptom sets, emotion clusters and vulnerability. Trauma survivors felt blamed for experiencing negative events, which were seen as karma transmitting past life sins or family member sins into personal loss. Some families were reluctant to seek care for psychological trauma because of the stigma of revealing this bad karma. In addition, idioms related to brain-mind dysfunction contributed to stigma, while heart-mind distress was a socially acceptable reason for seeking treatment. Different categories of trauma idioms support the need for multidisciplinary treatment with multiple points of service entry.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 322-352 |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Journal | Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2010 |
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Keywords
- Nepal
- Posttraumatic stress disorder
- Psychosocial
- Stigma
- Trauma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Health(social science)
- Anthropology
Cite this
Nepali concepts of psychological trauma : The role of idioms of distress, ethnopsychology and ethnophysiology in alleviating suffering and preventing stigma. / Kohrt, Brandon A.; Hruschka, Daniel.
In: Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry, Vol. 34, No. 2, 06.2010, p. 322-352.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Nepali concepts of psychological trauma
T2 - The role of idioms of distress, ethnopsychology and ethnophysiology in alleviating suffering and preventing stigma
AU - Kohrt, Brandon A.
AU - Hruschka, Daniel
PY - 2010/6
Y1 - 2010/6
N2 - In the aftermath of a decade-long Maoist civil war in Nepal and the recent relocation of thousands of Bhutanese refugees from Nepal to Western countries, there has been rapid growth of mental health and psychosocial support programs, including posttraumatic stress disorder treatment, for Nepalis and ethnic Nepali Bhutanese. This medical anthropology study describes the process of identifying Nepali idioms of distress and local ethnopsychology and ethnophysiology models that promote effective communication about psychological trauma in a manner that minimizes stigma for service users. Psychological trauma is shown to be a multifaceted concept that has no single linguistic corollary in the Nepali study population. Respondents articulated different categories of psychological trauma idioms in relation to impact on the heart-mind, brain-mind, body, spirit, and social status, with differences in perceived types of traumatic events, symptom sets, emotion clusters and vulnerability. Trauma survivors felt blamed for experiencing negative events, which were seen as karma transmitting past life sins or family member sins into personal loss. Some families were reluctant to seek care for psychological trauma because of the stigma of revealing this bad karma. In addition, idioms related to brain-mind dysfunction contributed to stigma, while heart-mind distress was a socially acceptable reason for seeking treatment. Different categories of trauma idioms support the need for multidisciplinary treatment with multiple points of service entry.
AB - In the aftermath of a decade-long Maoist civil war in Nepal and the recent relocation of thousands of Bhutanese refugees from Nepal to Western countries, there has been rapid growth of mental health and psychosocial support programs, including posttraumatic stress disorder treatment, for Nepalis and ethnic Nepali Bhutanese. This medical anthropology study describes the process of identifying Nepali idioms of distress and local ethnopsychology and ethnophysiology models that promote effective communication about psychological trauma in a manner that minimizes stigma for service users. Psychological trauma is shown to be a multifaceted concept that has no single linguistic corollary in the Nepali study population. Respondents articulated different categories of psychological trauma idioms in relation to impact on the heart-mind, brain-mind, body, spirit, and social status, with differences in perceived types of traumatic events, symptom sets, emotion clusters and vulnerability. Trauma survivors felt blamed for experiencing negative events, which were seen as karma transmitting past life sins or family member sins into personal loss. Some families were reluctant to seek care for psychological trauma because of the stigma of revealing this bad karma. In addition, idioms related to brain-mind dysfunction contributed to stigma, while heart-mind distress was a socially acceptable reason for seeking treatment. Different categories of trauma idioms support the need for multidisciplinary treatment with multiple points of service entry.
KW - Nepal
KW - Posttraumatic stress disorder
KW - Psychosocial
KW - Stigma
KW - Trauma
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U2 - 10.1007/s11013-010-9170-2
DO - 10.1007/s11013-010-9170-2
M3 - Article
VL - 34
SP - 322
EP - 352
JO - Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
JF - Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
SN - 0165-005X
IS - 2
ER -