Psychiatrists and Traditional Healers || Future Partnerships in Global Mental Health

✍ Scribed by Incayawar, Mario; Wintrob, Ronald; Bouchard, Lise

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 130 KB
• Edition: 1
• Category: Article
• ISBN: 0470516836
• DOI: 10.1002/9780470741054.ch20

✦ Synopsis

Mental disorders are highly prevalent worldwide, yet mental health care is scarce or inappropriate, especially in developing countries. The majority of the 450 million patients with mental disorders around the world are not receiving even the most basic mental health care. In developing countries, 76.3-85.4% of serious cases receive no treatment. Unfortunately, the unnecessary suffering is likely to worsen, as the global burden of disease attributable to psychiatric and substance use disorders is expected to rise in the coming decade.

This chapter unveils some important traditional healers' contributions. Among them are the following: (i) the role their psychosocial and clinical skills have played in the implementation of community and public health treatment programs for physical illness; (ii) their facilitation of culturally competent clinical care; and (iii) their limited, although effective, participation in unique collaborations with psychiatric treatment personnel. It also highlights their role in diminishing stigma related to mental illness and the reintegration of prison inmates and children soldiers into their communities.

This chapter urges that the contributions of traditional healers should be welcomed in a world characterized by serious biomedical workforce shortages, limited funding, global mental health service inequalities and enormous unmet needs for mental health services.