Objectives. – In our experience in the Department of Psychiatry in Varese, admissions of patients of African origin have increased significantly (from 1.8% in 1999 to 4.2% in 2013). In clinical practice, we have observed that spiritual factors are recurrent elements at the onset of an illness, and in our study we set out to explore these factors, using the analysis and comparison of the two cases. Method. – We used the new DSM-5 version of the Cultural Formulation Interview, which provides a cultural overview and is structured into 16 questions. Results. – In our first case, Tariq was a young man of Moroccan origin, who was reunited with his family in Italy after many years. He experienced cultural trauma from the move from Morocco t...