Please follow instructions
You must post before seeing replies. Edit history will be available to instructors.
Due Mar 26 60 points
View Split Screen
All
Search entries or author…
Newest First
Back to Week at a Glance
(
If you were to give a box of 100 different photographs to 10 people and ask them to sort them
into groups, it is very unlikely that all 10 people would sort them into the exact same groups.
However, if you were to give them a series of questions or a classification system to use, the
chances that all 10 people sort them exactly the same would increase.
This is not unlike the process of classifying mental disorders. Mental health professionals in the
United States (e.g., doctors, psychologists) who assess and diagnose mental disorders use the
CULTURAL IDIOMS OF
DISTRESS/CULTURAL SYNDROMES
(
media.waldenu.edu/2dett4d/Walden/Canvas/Getty/1920×938/GettyLicense_764784593.jpg)
classification system provided in a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders, Text Revision (5th ed.), usually abbreviated as the DSM-5-TR. This system attempts to
provide enough specificity to appropriately classify a large variety of mental disorders while also
attempting to include all possible symptoms. This is a daunting task because symptoms can
change over time or vary between cultures.
As you are now aware, different cultural contexts result in varied constructs in terms of how we
think about concepts like intelligence, emotions, and social behavior. Different cultures may
understand and relate to psychological disorders such as anxiety, schizophrenia, and substance
abuse differently as well. There are also some syndromes, such as mal de ojo (“evil eye”) and
hikikomori (“protracted and severe social withdrawal”), that are found only in specific cultures.
There is no one-to-one correspondence between a cultural syndrome and a DSM diagnosis.
However, a psychologist would need to utilize a respected diagnostic tool like the DSM as a
starting point in determining the most appropriate treatment for a suffering person. The
challenge is to connect the DSM system, which allows mental health professionals all over the
world to communicate effectively, with different cultural perspectives. It is not an easy task!
Your Discussion this week is an opportunity to think like a mental health professional while
applying what you have learned about cross-cultural psychology. For this Discussion, you will
explore different cultural syndromes and analyze the application of DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria
to them. You will be asked to reflect critically on how cultural syndromes compare with western
disorders and their usefulness in therapeutic settings.
Review this week’s Learning Resources and specifically pay attention to the Writing Center
Resources that will guide you as you use evidence to support your post and response to this
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
(8)
TO PREPARE:
Discussion. Also review the “Common Assignments: Discussion Posts” resource to guide you as
develop your skills further in writing effective Discussion posts and responses.
As you review the assigned sections of the DSM, reflect on cultural syndromes. Selecting one or
more cultural syndromes as an example, consider:
What’s the primary feature of this cultural syndrome?
What are related Western disorders and their prominent symptoms?
What are the key overlaps you see when examining descriptions of cultural syndromes?
Post the following:
Select a cultural syndrome and post the following:
Describe the primary feature of this cultural syndrome.
Describe at least two related Western disorders and their prominent symptoms.
Explain two key overlapping features you see when examining descriptions of cultural syndromes.
Explain how having an understanding of cultural syndromes can be used in therapeutic settings.
Support the responses within your assignment post with credited evidence from the assigned
learning resources (including sentence-level citations). Provide a reference list in APA Style for
resources you used in the post.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be
able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on
the Reply button to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Post Reply,
you cannot delete or edit your own posts and you cannot post anonymously. Please
check your post carefully before clicking on Post Reply!
Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts and discuss your views and provide additional
insights. Use the Learning Resources from this week as evidence to support your response.
Support the responses within your colleague reply with credited evidence from the assigned learning
resources (e.g., including sentence-level citations). Provide a reference list in APA Style for resources
you used in the post.
BY DAY 3
BY DAY 5
Reply
