A female Nigerian refugee presented with a combination of paranoia and symptoms of somatoform disorders. Her symptoms were interpreted as a cultural expression of postpartum depression. The psychotic symptoms subsided when the patient was admitted to a psychiatric crisis unit and was given antipsychotics. We describe a model that can be used to treat remaining somatoform symptoms with patient-generated metaphors.

Nigeria Paranoid disorders Somatoform disorders

puerperal depression hospital admission Nigeria Antipsychotic Agents social psychology Diagnosis, Differential refugee clinical feature paranoia human Refugees Paranoid Disorders mental health care Humans Treatment Outcome case report social problem female Review cultural factor Belgium adult hallucination neuroleptic agent benzodiazepine Depression, Postpartum Somatoform Disorders antidepressant agent somatoform disorder