Back to Journals » Psychology Research and Behavior Management » Volume 5

Panic attacks and possession by djinns: lessons from ethnopsychiatry

Authors Bragazzi NL, Del Puente G

Received 6 September 2012

Accepted for publication 2 November 2012

Published 20 December 2012 Volume 2012:5 Pages 185—190

DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S37714

Checked for plagiarism Yes

Review by Single anonymous peer review

Peer reviewer comments 2



Nicola Luigi Bragazzi,1 Giovanni Del Puente2

1School of Public Health, Department of Health Sciences, 2Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, Section of Psychiatry, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

Abstract: This clinical case report shows how important it is for a psychiatrist to have a knowledge of the cultural and religious context of the patient, in order to understand fully his or her complaints. Culture and religion, in fact, are not neutral, but convey symbols, meanings, and myths that should be properly explored to shed light on the patient’s inner world. Patient D was a 19-year-old Muslim Italo-Tunisian girl, who consulted a psychiatrist for anxiety and panic attacks, and reported being possessed by djinns (ie, “evil creatures”, as described in the Qur’an). A culturally informed interview was carried out, together with administration of psychometric scales, including the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised and Psychological Measure of Islamic Religiousness. Based on her scores and the results of this multidimensional assessment, patient D was treated with transcultural psychotherapy and fluoxetine. After a year of follow-up, she reported no further episodes of panic disorder. For proper assessment and treatment, a combined anthropological, sociological, and psychopathological approach was necessary.

Keywords: Islam, Qur’an, djinns, panic attack disorder, ethnopsychiatry

Creative Commons License © 2012 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.