Psychotherapy With the Arab Patient

From our regular book review column.

Imagine yourself in this situation: you are an M.D. who has recently completed residency and fellowship training in psychiatry at a prestigious university in the United States. You have recently accepted a position as psychiatrist-in-chief at a leading university hospital in an Arab country. You have major responsibilities as a clinician, educator, researcher, and administrator. You are young and ambitious. You are ready for your first patient. . . . Here comes the surprise: a 22-year-old veiled married woman, poorly educated, who stopped eating when her husband, who is also her cousin, took on another wife. The husband, who is wealthy and educated, refuses to be seen. The pressure is mounting. This is the moment you have been waiting for. Suddenly, you realize that your intensive training never prepared you for this. There are no quick references to read, nobody to consult with. You are on your own. What do you do?