Coercive Therapy in East and West: A Brief Review

The physician-patient relationship has undergonene significant changes in recent decades in Western countries. Taking a client-centered approach, society has given more autonomy and freedom to patients. The patient is regarded as a consumer who is looking for the best and most scientific approach and is free to choose among different methods of treatment. The role of the physician is only a guiding role. On the other hand, in Eastern countries, we still experience a parent-child relationship in therapeutic settings. Eastern patients expect direct advice from their physicians, and the family has an important role in decision-making. An approach which is considered coercive in Western countries could still be a useful and acceptable one in Eastern cultures. The main goal of the authors in this paper is to compare different attitudes towards this issue in Eastern and Western cultures.