Psychological trauma and culture

An exploration of psychotraumatic experiences in southern Benin reveals certain particularities in the way psychic suffering is expressed. Most traumatized women’s discourses are strongly imbued with persecutory interpretations and religious or mystical themes. Representations of the traumatic event influence the frequency of symptoms such as guilt, suicidal ideation and nightmare content. These representations determine the victims’ therapeutic itinerary. In addition, beyond personal resources, social support as manifested in the local context, conjuration rituals, expiatory ceremonies, amulets, collective rituals to appease the spirits of the deceased and traditional therapeutic practices help to alleviate victims’ psychological distress and strengthen their resilience. This research, which has led to an attempt at a cultural theorization of psychological trauma, presents practitioners with the challenge of developing a diagnostic tool and therapeutic approach that draw on local cultural realities.