Discusses traditional iraqi views toward mental illness and problems of integrating western psychiatric practice into this background. In iraq, mental illness is commonly believed to be caused by possession of the mind by evil spirits and/or excessively strong emotions. Traditional cures have been administered by magicians having semireligious status. Reliance on traditional cures is still common, especially in the countryside. A summary of the types of mental illness found in iraq notes that delusions of persecution, denial and displacement of guilt, and homosexuality are commonplace products of cultural conditioning. The trend toward western psychiatric treatment must contend with a shortage of practitioners and facilities, continued reliance on magical cures, and the view that mental illness is shameful and a disgrace to one's family.