Hallucinations, Delusions, and Psychotic Experience in the Arab World

This chapter looks critically at the concept of psychosis (e.g. the experience of delusions and hallucinations) across time and place. The work uses the Arab world for its primary focus, exploring how delusions and hallucinations are experienced, explained, and responded to across these societies. Based on regional clinical insights and an extensive review of the existent literature, the chapter aims to draw attention to the way religion, culture, and social norms shape these pathoplastic symptoms (aberrant human experiences). From ideas such as demonic interference, through to the nature of delusional/hallucinatory content, the chapter aims to provide a rich description of the psychotic experience in the contemporary Arab world. This analysis has implications for mental healthcare in multicultural contexts and for broader public health initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence of psychotic experience and associated morbidity.