Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

The current study used a qualitative design informed by indigenous research methodologies to describe how indigenous African healers and their clients address Western-defined mental health problems. Healers for this study included Orìsà priests initiated within the Yorùbá-based system of Ifá. Two research questions guided this inquiry: (1) How do Orìsà priests and their clients conceptualize issues and concerns associated with mental health problems in Western psychology (2) What methods and techniques do Orìsà priests and their clients use to address issues and concerns associated with mental health problems in Western psychology? Data were collected during semistructured individual interviews with Orìsà priests in a three-phase model. The study also included focus groups with informants who sought the services of Orìsà priests. A combined total of 18 interviews were conducted that included 22 separate respondents residing within the southeastern United States. The following steps were employed to enhance methodological rigor: (1) bracketing of assumptions by the research team members, (2) use of a reflexive journal, (3) member checking, and (4) an audit trail. Data analysis consisted of a recursive process divided into multiple steps including codebook development, code application, and data analysis. Three major themes emerged from the data: (1) Conceptualization of Mental Health Problems as Spiritual Matters, (2) Origins of Mental Health Problems, and (3) Addressing Mental Health Problems. Results of this study indicate that respondents primarily conceptualize mental health problems as spiritual matters and seek to address these concerns with an Orìsà priest first. Practice and research implications for psychologists are discussed.

Keywords

indigenous healing African spirituality Yorùbá Ifá

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abimbola

(2006). Yorùbá culture: A philosophical account. Birmingham, England: Iroko Academic.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

American Psychological Association. (2003). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and organizational change for psychologists. American Psychologist, 58, 377-402. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.58.5.377

Arnold

L. M.

Keck

P. E.

Collins

Wilson

Fleck

D. E.

Corey

K. B.

. . .Strakowski

S. M.

(2004). Ethnicity and first-rank symptoms in patients with psychosis. Schizophrenia Research, 67, 207-212. doi:10.1016/S0920-9964(02)00497-8

Baez

Hernandez

(2001). Complementary spiritual beliefs in the Latino community: The interface with psychotherapy. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71, 408-415. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.71.4.408

Boyd-Franklin

(2006). Black families in therapy: A multisystems approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Constantine

M. G.

Myers

L. J.

Kindaichi

(2004). Exploring indigenous mental health practices: The roles of healers and helpers in promoting well-being in people of color. Counseling and Values, 48, 110-125.

Creswell

J. W.

(1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

(2005). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

10.

Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Smith

L. T.

(2008). Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

11.

Elebuibon

(2000). The healing power of sacrifice. Brooklyn, NY: Henrietta Press.

12.

Falola

Genova

(2005). Orìsà: Yoruba gods and spiritual identity in Africa and the diaspora. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press.

13.

Gielen

Fish

Draguns

(Eds.). (2004). Handbook of culture, therapy, and healing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

14.

Graham

(2005). Maat: An African-centered paradigm for psychological and spiritual healing. In Moodley

R. L.

West

(Eds.), Integrating indigenous healing practices into counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 210-220). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

15.

Gregory

Harper

(2001). The ntu approach to health and healing. Journal of Black Psychology, 27, 304-320. doi:10.1177/0095798401027003004

16.

Grills

C. T.

(2004). African psychology. In Jones

R. L.

(Ed.), Black psychology (4th ed., pp. 171-208). Hampton, VA: Cobb & Henry.

17.

Grills

C. T.

(2002). African-centered psychology. In: Parham

(Ed.), Counseling persons of african descent: Raising the bar of practitioner competence. (pp. 10-21). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

18.

Jackson

J. S.

Neighbors

H. W.

Torres

Martin

L. A.

Williams

D. R.

Baser

(2007). Use of mental health services and subjective satisfaction with treatment among black Caribbean immigrants: Results from the national survey of American life. American Journal of Public Health, 97, 60-67. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006.088500

19.

Jackson

Gregory

Davis

(2004). Ntu psychotherapy and African-American youth. In Ancis

J. R.

(Ed.), Culturally responsive interventions: Innovative approaches to working with diverse populations (pp. 49-70). New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge.

20.

Lincoln

Y. S.

Guba

E. G.

(2005). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 191-216). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

21.

Martinez-Tabos

Albizu

(2005). Psychogenic seizures in an espiritismo context: The roles of culturally sensitive psychotherapy. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 42, 6-13. doi:10.1037/0033-3204.42.1.6

22.

Meyers

Truscott

S. D.

Meyers

A. B.

Varjas

Collins

A. S.

(2009). Qualitative and mixed methods designs in consultation research. In Erchul

W. P.

Sheridan

S. M.

(Eds.), Handbook of research in school consultation: Empirical foundations for the field (pp. 89-114). New York, NY: Routledge.

23.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

(1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

24.

Morrow

S. L.

(2005). Quality and trustworthiness in qualitative research in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 250-260. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.250

25.

Myers

L. J.

(2003). Our health matters: Guide to an African (indigenous) American psychology and cultural model for creating a climate and culture of optimal health. Columbus: Ohio Commission on Minority Health.

26.

Myers

L. J.

Obasi

E. M.

Jefferson

Anderson

Godfrey

Purnell

(2005). Building multicultural competence around indigenous healing. In Constantine

Sue

D. W.

(Eds.), Strategies for building multicultural competence in mental health and educational settings (pp. 109-128). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

27.

Neighbors

H. W.

Caldwell

Williams

D. R.

Nesse

Taylor

R. J.

Bullard

. . .Jackson

J. S.

(2007). Race, ethnicity, and the use of services for mental Disorders: Results from the National Survey of American Life. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 485-494.

28.

Obasi

Flores

James-Myers

(2009). Construction and initial validation of the worldview analysis scale (WAS). Journal of Black Studies, 39, 937-961.

29.

Ojelade

McCray

Ashby

J. S.

Meyers

(2011). Use of Ifá as a means of addressing mental health concerns among African-American clients. Journal of Counseling and Development, 89, 406-412.

30.

Parham

T. A.

(2002). Counseling African Americans: The current state of affairs. In Parham

T. A.

(Ed.), Counseling persons of African descent: Raising the bar of practitioner competence (pp. 1-9). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

31.

Ponterotto

J. G.

(2005). Qualitative research in counseling psychology: A primer on research paradigms and philosophy of science. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 126-136. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.126

32.

Prandi

(2000). African gods in contemporary Brazil. International Sociology, 15, 641-664. doi:10.1177/0268580900015004005

33.

Sussman

(2004). The role of culture in definitions, interpretations, and management of illness. In Gielen

Fish

Draguns

(Eds.), Handbook of culture, therapy, and healing (pp. 37-66). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

34.

Suzuki

Ahluwalia

Mattis

Quizon

(2005). Ethnography in counseling psychology research: Possibilities for application. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 206-214. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.2.206.

35.

Van Dyk

Nefale

(2005). The split-ego experience of Africans: Ubuntu therapy as a healing alternative. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 15, 48-66. doi:10.1037/1053.0479.15.1.48

36.

Whaley

A. L.

(2001). Cultural mistrust and mental health services for African-Americans: A review and meta-analysis. Counseling Psychologist, 29, 513-531. doi:10.1177/0011000001294003

37.

Williams

S. L.

Ketring

S. A.

Salts

C. J.

(2005). Premature termination as a function of intake data based on ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and income. Contemporary Family Therapy: An International Journal, 27, 213-231. doi:10.1007/s10591.005.4040.8

Use of Indigenous African Healing Practices as a Mental Health Intervention

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References