Culture-bound syndromes in mental health: a discussion paper.

The author discusses culture-bound syndromes in mental health. Training emphasizes on recognition of signs and symptoms and behavioral presentation of the patient, closely aligned to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) or International Classification of Disease (ICD) diagnostic categories. The DSM's main purpose was to collate hospital patient statistics and later used for insurance health claims. It concluded that Western psychiatric diagnostic can no longer be the 'standard'.