Mental illness and Egyptian families

Abstract

People from Egypt have cultural belief systems about mental illness and its causes that are at variance from Anglo-Saxon-derived understandings that predominate in Australian psychiatry. These differences in understanding can affect how mental health services are experienced and accepted by this cultural group. This paper is a review of the literature on Egyptians' beliefs about mental illness and how families in Egypt cope with a relative with mental illness. Because of limited literature on Egyptians' experience with mental illness in Australia, this paper will be used to shed some light on the way in which people experience mental illness and communicate this suffering in the Australian context, based on what has been known to occur in Egypt. The Zar cult and related practices focusing on belief in the evil eye, magic, and evil possession will be explored. Historical and contemporary mental health care systems in Egypt, and the influence of education and religion are discussed. In order to provide culturally sensitive care, nurses need to be aware of possible influences on belief systems about mental illness. This paper has the potential of helping nurses to gain a deeper understanding of cultures that differ from theirs and to provide care to clients and their families based on respect for the others' beliefs, values, and practices.

Primary Caregivers of People with Severe Mental Illness Experience of Anti-Psychotic Medication: Findings from the Semi-Structured Interviews

“…The findings of this study are in line with those of who reported that in Arab culture the distinction between physical and psychological health is not widely common as has historically been prevalent in Western Cultures. Arab-Muslim literature reveals that Arab-Muslim do not distinguish emotional or psychological distress from physical illness and the majority of populations tend to somatize their illness in which mental ill patient expresses an emotional disorder in the presentation of physical symptoms (Al-Krenawi, Graham, & Kandah, 2000c;Endrawes, O'Brien, & Wilkes, 2007;Fogel & Ford, 2005). This difficulty in recognizing between illnesses is further increased by the patients' tolerance of their symptoms and their family tolerance of their behavioral problems.…”

Normal life crises and insanity—mental illness contextualised

“…Despite different welfare and immigration policies, the findings of our study are consistent with results from similar studies in other countries. For example, shame and stigma, have been highlighted as the main reason for low utilisation of mental health services in case studies of Asians in Canada and Australia (Kirmayer et al, 1996;Wynaden et al, 2005), Latinos in the United States (Kouyoumdjian et al, 2003), and Arabs and Egyptians in Australia (Youssef & Deane, 2006;Endrawes et al, 2007). Inhabitants of Rosengård do not seem to constitute an exception.…”

“…To overcome barriers between immigrants and the welfare system, and to meet the mental health care needs of a migrant population, culturally sensitive services have often been recommended (Al-Krenawi & Graham, 2000;Kouyoumdjian et al, 2003;Endrawes et al, 2007;Reitmanova & Gustavsson, 2009). Such services could include recruiting personnel of various ethnical backgrounds, providing interpreters and cultural brokers, distributing information in minority languages, and educating staff to be culturally aware.…”

An Exploratory Study of American Muslim Conceptions of Mental Illness

“…Interpretations of the cause of mental illness as a combination of both supernatural and social factors has been found by researchers in Southeast Asia (Azhar & Varma, 2000;Haque, 2010), Gulf nations (El-Islam, 2000), North Africa (Endrawes, O'Brien, & Wilkes, 2007;Fadlalla, 2005;Stein, 2000), and Pakistan (Mubbashar, 2000;Saeed, Gater, Hussain, & Mubbashar, 2000). Many of these researchers also note the continued presence of belief in mental illness as a direct result of the evil eye, God's will, or God's punishment in Muslim countries and in Muslim immigrant and refugee populations in the United States (El-Islam, 1982;Fadlalla, 2005;Haque, 2010;Kemp, 2007;Martin, 2009).…”

“…The findings of contemporary research studies on mental illness in predominantly Muslim countries continue to support a multidimensional model of understanding mental illness as having supernatural, social, and biological causes. No one model of mental illness is accepted within the various populations, and, in many cases, the supernatural model continues to dominate (see Farooqi, 2006;Abu-Rabia, 2005;Endrawes, O'Brien & Wilkes, 2007;Johnsdotter, Ingvarsdotter, Ostman, & Carlbom, 2011, Haque, 2008.…”