 By virtue of its culture-specific origin and oversight the DSM-IV-TR is culturally bound within western ontological paradigms, and thus may not be, in whole or in part, appropriate for the diverse needs of other cultures (Thakker & Ward, 1998).It is possible, and imperative, that indigenous psychologies find meaningful points of integration with western psychologies, and may include the systematic operationalization of mental illness within rigorous diagnostic criteria (Lawson, Graham, & Baker, 2007).However, integration towards a global psychology, or other overarching cross-cultural framework of psychological phenomena transcendent of specific cultural ontologies may require the inclusion of paradigms and methodologies that exist apart from traditional western-scientific understandings of rigor.