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Cultural Countertransference of Young Clinicians Facing a State of Possession: A Cultural Case Study.

Manon Arminot, Lara Haghiri Ghazvini, Thierry Baubet, Marie Rose Moro, Théo Mouhoud

Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry February 9, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-026-09976-1 (opens in new tab)

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Characteristics Case study Case report Peer reviewed
Sample size 1
Population A Somali patient with possession states
Intervention Cultural Formulation Interview
Keywords Countertransference Diagnosis errors Somalia Spirit possession Transcultural psychiatry
Key findings Addressing cultural countertransference in young clinicians, using the Cultural Formulation Interview, can improve understanding of possession symptoms and patient outcomes.

Abstract

Possession states are a well-known but a complex clinical aspect of transcultural psychiatry. How do young clinicians react when facing such symptoms? Starting from the case of a Somali patient suffering from possession states, treated in a transcultural consultation group, we will attempt to explain the cultural countertransference experienced by young clinicians who witnessed a trance. Using the Cultural Formulation Interview, we observed an evolution of the countertransference, and therefore an evolution of the symptom's understanding and of the patient's condition. This clinical case thus highlights the necessity to take into account the cultural countertransference of young clinicians within the transcultural consultation.

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