[Educational Lecture 7] Who Decides What's Normal? Cultural Authority, Identity, and the Globalization of Psychiatric Diagnoses

[EL-7] Who Decides What’s Normal? Cultural Authority, Identity, and the Globalization of Psychiatric Diagnoses

*Muhammad Irfan (Department of Mental Health, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Peshawar Medical College, Riphah International University, Islamabad(Pakistan))

Keywords:

Cultural Psychiatry,Mental Health Equity,Globalization,Psychiatric Framework,Identity

Cultural Authority and global power dynamics profoundly influence how mental illness is defined and understood. As psychiatric frameworks—particularly those embedded in the DSM and ICD—gain global dominance, local understandings of psychological distress risk being marginalized or pathologized. This lecture is an attempt to examine how cultural identity, historical context, and institutional authority influence what is considered "abnormal" across societies. By identifying the potential conflicts between universalist and culturally specific models of mental health, critical questions are raised about who holds the power to define mental illness and the implications for global mental health equity.