Taijin Kyofusho Essay

Although Taijin Kyofusho was once thought to be a culture bound disorder unique to Japan, collective evidence is suggest that it might not be confined to a particular culture or country, because similar behavioral avoidant patterns have been reported in other countries like Korea, Europe, Australia, and the United States, thus dispelling the notion that this is a culture bound syndrome specific only to Japanese society. More recently, the condition has also been described in Southeast Asia. Studies made by Kleinknecht and colleagues examined differences between SAD and TKS, and their relation to independence and interdependence in US and Japanese university student, factor analyses yielded three factors, each corresponding to the respective
It may also respond to psychological treatments, for example, there has been a case report demonstrating efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy in a patient whose predominant fear is that of emanating a foul body odor. (Kobayashi) Morita therapy has been a well-established treatment in Japan to treat TKS. Initially formatted as intensive inpatient treatment, it has since been modified for use in the outpatient setting, in the form of group therapy. (Kobayashi) There are two phases, an intensive phase lasting several months, followed by a working through phase. There are elements of behavior therapy such as the use of exposure exercises with the aims of achieving functional improvements, rather than symptom relief. Few controlled trials have been conducted to assess its efficacy. (Kobayashi) In the case of the offensive delusional type of disorder, antipsychotic medications are required, although there is distinct paucity of reports describing the efficacy and tolerability of any particular atypical antipsychotic medication. It has been previously suggested that medications such as pimozide could be effective in some patients with ORS. (Kobayashi) Some have suggested the use of specific serotonin reuptake inhibitors to treat ORS assuming that these symptoms, despite causing distress, have not reached delusional intensity.