A psychiatrist in training encounters a traditional healer

Traditional healers play a significant role in healthcare seeking in South Africa. Many South Africans often seek healthcare services from both medical practitioners and traditional healers simultaneously for the same condition. Despite this, many medical practitioners seem ignorant about the practices of traditional healers.

This study aimed to explore the similarities and differences between the practices of a traditional healer (TH) and a psychiatrist in training (PIT) regarding an inpatient mental healthcare user (MHCU).

This study was conducted at an inpatient ward at Weskoppies Hospital, Pretoria.

An autoethnographic method was utilised in this study.

The TH and PIT evaluated the same MHCU. While doing so, the PIT used participant observation, field notes, and finally a qualitative content analysis. The findings of the content analysis were validated with the TH. Two previously unpublished findings in South African traditional healing emerged: the use of a doll (effigy) and calling on angels.

The TH and PIT followed the same basic steps in evaluating and treating the MHCU, but there were notable differences in the details (subcategories) of those steps. These differences reflect very different epistemologies about mental illness: the PIT used an evidence-based, naturalistic (or positivistic) model, while the TH used a model that can best be designated as transcendent.

This study contributes towards an understanding of a TH's approach to a mentally disordered patient.