van der Watt Alberta S J, Biederman Sarah V, Abdulmalik Jibril O, Mbanga Irene, Das-Brailsford Pricilla, Seedat Soraya
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
S Afr J Psychiatr. 2021 Mar 4;27:1528. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v27i0.1528. eCollection 2021.
Traditional healers (THs) are an important part of the healthcare system in sub-Saharan Africa. Understanding their training, experiences of becoming healers and their perceived roles in society is critical.
This study aimed to explore the experience of becoming a TH, including accepting the calling, and sheds light on how the experience is conceptualised within the cultural and communitarian context of THs.
This study was conducted amongst Xhosa THs in the Western Cape, South Africa.
In-depth phenomenological interviews ( = 4) were conducted with Xhosa THs and analysed using Giorgi's descriptive pre-transcendental Husserlian phenomenological analysis.
The experience of becoming a TH can be summarised in the context of three units of significance: (1) the gift of healing as an illness; (2) the experience of conflict (including with their families, the church and self-conflict); and (3) the experience of belonging. Familial conflict, specifically, was fuelled by the financial burden of becoming a TH and a lack of understanding of the process.
To develop a workable model of collaboration in the future, it is crucial that mental healthcare providers develop a better understanding of the experiences of THs in becoming care providers. The findings highlight an appreciation of the challenging process of becoming a TH. Finally, further research and culturally appropriate psychoeducation can provide trainee THs and their family members with the skills and knowledge to support each other through a difficult process.
传统治疗师是撒哈拉以南非洲医疗体系的重要组成部分。了解他们的培训情况、成为治疗师的经历以及他们在社会中所感知到的角色至关重要。
本研究旨在探索成为一名传统治疗师的经历，包括接受召唤，并阐明在传统治疗师的文化和社群背景下，这种经历是如何被概念化的。
本研究在南非西开普省的科萨传统治疗师中进行。
对科萨传统治疗师进行了深入的现象学访谈（n = 4），并使用 Giorgi 的描述性先验胡塞尔现象学分析方法进行分析。
成为传统治疗师的经历可以在三个重要单元的背景下进行总结：（1）将治愈视为一种天赋；（2）冲突经历（包括与家人、教会的冲突以及自我冲突）；（3）归属感。具体而言，家庭冲突因成为传统治疗师的经济负担以及对这一过程缺乏理解而加剧。
为了在未来建立一个可行的合作模式，精神卫生保健提供者更好地理解传统治疗师成为护理提供者的经历至关重要。研究结果强调了对成为传统治疗师这一具有挑战性过程的理解。最后，进一步的研究和符合文化背景的心理教育可以为实习传统治疗师及其家庭成员提供技能和知识，以便在艰难过程中相互支持。
