Political and religious violence: What psychiatry can bring to Middle East?

Abstract

Middle East is one of the most violent regions of the world. This phenomenon is most often due to the fact that religious problematic and political challenges are immediately mixed in places where, moreover, the states don’t assume their role as expected about structuring their societies, supporting freedom and respect for the individual rights and life-projects of their citizens. This complex configuration makes a lot of populations in Middle East develop discreet but serious mental problems such as schizophrenia with paranoia-tendencies or loss of rationality among other possibilities. The aim of this lecture (if still possible) or poster (if the program of speeches is already closed) is to demonstrate what psychiatry (such as elaborated in the west) could bring to Middle East, as well as the difficulties this discipline will have to face to gain respect and interest over there. A focus will be made about an example of “loss of rationality” and how it leads to a projection of violence against animals and its specific meaning in the context of a conflict.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.