In this episode I am joined by Dr Chencho Dorji, Bhutan’s first psychiatrist and the Professor of Psychiatry at Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan.

Dr Dorji recalls his traumatic childhood growing up in Bhutan with a psychotic, alcoholic father. He describes the impact of living in constant fear of violence on he and his siblings, the resultant psychotic breakdown of his elder brother and the extreme methods used by the shamans, lamas, and traditional doctors who were recruited to heal them.

Dr Dorji also recalls his arduous progress through medical training, special placements for psychiatry in Sri Lanka and Australia, compares Bhutanese and Western societies, and begins to consider the interaction between modern psychiatry and traditional Bhutanese approaches to mental health.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/podcast/ep237-bhutans-first-psychiatrist-dr-chencho-dorji

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

00:56 - Life in Bhutan before modernisation

03:23 - Community and family networks

05:26 - Ashi Kunzang Choden

07:08 - Radical social change in Bhutan

08:45 - Living in fear with a psychotic father

12:00 - Father’s traumatic background

17:23 - Elder brother’s breakdown and psychosis

20:31 - Devastated by brother’s illness

21:44 - Attempting to cure Nima’s psychosis through shamanic and religious rituals

26:30 - Supernatural vs modern approaches to mental health

29:58 - The limits of modern medicine

32:48 - Struggles and successes in education

37:28 - Deciding to become a psychiatrist to help family

41:42 - Lost opportunity to pursue psychiatry

47:00 - Studying psychiatry in Sri Lanka

49:03 - Fever and depression

52:22 - First experience of holiday

55:32 - One year clinical placement in Australia

57:40 - Problems in Australian society and healthcare system

01:00:56 - A challenging case

01:03:24 - All societies have problems

01:04:40 - Children’s schooling experience in Australia

01:09:15 - Warning to young Bhutanese emigrating to Australia

01:13:06 - Return to Australia and hosting Bhutanese migrants

01:14:28 - Social impact on Bhutan of large scale emigration

01:18:14 - Time travel and predicting the future

01:19:47 - Interactions between psychiatry and traditional medical models

01:21:16 - Praise for Dr Caroline Van Damme

01:24:59 - Reflections on the US healthcare system

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Previous Bhutan episodes playlist:

- https://www.guruviking.com/search?q=bhutan

To find out more about Dr Chencho Dorji, visit:

- https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057403100633

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James