THE NEGLECT OF CULTURE IN PSYCHIATRIC NOSOLOGY - THE CASE OF CULTURE BOUND SYNDROMES - COMMENT

Descriptive psychopathology and clinical phenomenology inform contempo rary psychiatric diagnosis and nosology. The process of psychiatric di agnosis and classification is intricate and subject to continuous revi sion. This paper attempts to illustrate the effect of culture on psych opathology, with special emphasis on the diagnosis and classification of culture bound syndromes. There is a need for more clarity and speci ficity about the diagnosis and classification of culture bound syndrom es. The paper suggests some questions that need to be addressed for th e better integration of these syndromes into the main body of internat ional classificatory systems. It is presumed that answers to these que stions will provide a better nosological framework for culture bound s yndromes.