Need to use an Advanced Psychotherapies for Managing Women`s Mental Health Issues-PTSD in Pakistan

Dr. Mehwish Kamran

Ph.D. Clinical Psychology

Clinical Psychologist – USA

Various psychotherapies have been used effectively to help women suffering from mental health issues specifically PTSD in Pakistan. Such therapeutic techniques have been applied only sparingly in populations where mental healthcare has low priority and where religious and cultural values differ greatly from those of the West (Kamran & Rowland, 2021). Although traditional psychotherapies such as Cognitive behavioral therapy have demonstrated effectiveness in Pakistani populations (Zadeh & Lateef, 2012), there is a dearth of indexed literature on the non-pharmacological treatment of PTSD in Pakistani women, particularly when it results from traumatic events.

Cambridge University Press published an article that examined the burden of mental disorders in Pakistan over the past three decades and recommended that the culturally appropriate preventive services should be available for Pakistani population (Alvi MH, Ashraf T, Naz F, et al. 2023)

Therefore, there is a need to use advanced therapeutic methods in Pakistan to treat mental disorders. Considering that, one of my research studies “Possible Role for Imagery-Based Therapy in Managing PTSD in Pakistani Women Experiencing Domestic Abuse: A Pilot Study Using Eidetic Therapy” (Kamran and Rowland, 2021) filled that gap by contributing to the usage of the therapeutic model of trauma for women with domestic violence in Pakistan. That treatment model named `Eidetic Trauma Model` by Akhtar Ahsen which was used for the therapeutic handling of PTSD. Ahsen`s great contribution to the symptomology of disorders specifically in the cases of trauma as he figured out that where symptoms occur in the body during trauma, is not the effecting where symptoms are being experienced. (Dolan 1997).

Given that Eidetic Psychotherapy was originally developed as a more culturally-friendly approach, its usefulness in the treatment of psychological issues—thus far only minimally tested—in non-Western contexts is worth assessing, particularly in regions of the world such as Pakistan where, due to precarious geopolitical and quality of life conditions, physical and mental trauma represent heavy burdens on the population.

It is found that eidetic psychotherapy has been applied by researchers in the past in different perspectives. similarly, Kamran and Rowland (2021) applied EP specifically for the treatment of PTSD. Moreover, Thomas (2017) talked about the importance of using deeper integration of creative interventions in counseling and explained that the main advancement in therapeutic use is imagination. Kamran and Rowland (2021) worked on the same therapeutic tool eidetic imagery in `Ahsen`s Trauma Model` to provide therapeutic support to people with PTSD.

Furthermore, the continuing development and improvement of methods for treating PTSD—particularly where literacy and verbal skills may represent significant obstacles—that can be readily adapted to various populations and cultures is strongly warranted (Blackwell et al., 2015; Ramos & Alegria, 2014). Moreover, (Kamran and Rowland, 2021) used the abbreviated format and procedure of Eidetic Psychotherapy, often consisting of only 5-10 sessions, that has the potential to save both time and money, making it an attractive option in environments where personal and public resources for mental healthcare are severely limited. It is considered a culturally sensitive approach as it relies less on verbal skills and narratives, which might be a barrier for some women in Pakistan due to literacy levels or language preferences.