De Martino's concept of critical ethnocentrism and its relevance to transcultural psychiatry

Bibliographic Data

ID2394930
AuthorsGiovanni Stanghellini (0000-0001-5164-7013, “G. D'Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara and Universidad “Diego Portales”, corresponding author), Raffaella Ciglia (“G. d'Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara)
Year2013
Volume50
Issue1
Pages6-20
Publication date2013-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTranscultural Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1363-4615 • E-ISSN: 1461-7471
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1363461513475928
PMID23411691
OpenAlexW2142680423
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited27

Ethnography and hermeneutics help us think of the clinical encounter as a meeting of cultures. In this paper, we examine Ernesto De Martino's concept of critical ethnocentrism and its relevance for psychiatry, arguing for the necessity of a cultural self-assessment on the part of the clinician as a means of optimizing analyses of the patient's culture. Conceptualizing the clinician as an "ethnologist," we argue that clinicians should be able to describe and acknowledge patients' cultural backgrounds, while remaining aware of their own culturally rooted prejudices. Focusing on the case of persons affected by schizophrenia, we suggest that De Martino's work invites an openness to hermeneutic dialogue that aims for the coconstruction of shared narratives by clinician and patient

Ethnocentrism · Political science · Psychiatry · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Anthropology · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Mental Health and Psychiatry · Neurology and Historical Studies · Psychology · Social Psychology