Psychiatric Understanding of The Leprosy Psychiatric problem and implication related to the leprosy and leprosarium were reviewed from the previous articles and presented from the author´s 6 years experience as a psychiatric consultant of Sorokdo Leprosarium in Chonnam, Korea.
Articles of this field were well documented in India, Japan, other countries of South-East Asia. Semantic conflict of the term leprosy, attitude of laymen toward the lepers, psychological stigma of being diagnosed as a leper and of being compulsorily segregated, and psychological and psychiatric problems of the lepers were stueied.
Psychiatric care was suggested to be as much important as medicinal ones not only for effective of leprosy itself but also for the better management of psychological problems and mental diseases arising from the specific situation of them. Regarding the complicating nature of leprosy, medical psychiatric and socioeconomic, psychosomatic understanding and approach would be considered as more desirable for successful management.
As E. Muir said, the victim of leprosy deserves and requires our sympathy, but much more he requires undersatanding.
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