Cultural psychiatry in Tel Aviv: how relevant!

The First Mediterranean Conference on Cultural Psychiatry took place in Tel Aviv, Israel. This conference was a great success. With about 200 participants, mostly from Israel but with also 46 participants coming from 13 other countries: Mediterranean countries, Europe, North America and Australia.

Idiom of distress or delusional state? Cultural clash as the cause of misdiagnosis: a case report.

The Beta Israel (House of Israel) represent a total number of more than 100,000 individuals. Ethiopian Jewish culture is based on a tribal cultural model. With their arrival in Israel, many difficulties surfaced.

To lock or not to lock patients'rooms: the key to autonomy?

Many patients with schizophrenia experience prominent negative symptoms. Functional impairment often results in patients who remain in their rooms for most of the day. It has thus become common practice in many psychiatric wards to lock patients' rooms during much of the morning and afternoon hours to encourage participation in ward activities and treatment modalities.

The hateful patient revisited: Relevance for 21st century medicine.

While the practice of medicine has changed over the years, including technological advances, access to medical information, and the narrowing of socio-economic and educational gaps between the clinician and his/her patients, the importance of the doctor-patient relationship has not diminished over time. This can be a very rewarding interaction. However, many physicians experience a great deal of anger, inadequacy and frustration, and much of the actual practice of medicine may become a burden rather than a source of satisfaction.