Traditional healers in South Africa are an essential resource in the healthcare system, serving a large percentage of the population, especially in black communities. Many people prefer consulting traditional healers due to their understanding of African culture and the ability to provide effective treatments for psychological issues. Some traditional healers are so popular that they can charge higher consultation fees than medical doctors.
There is a growing recognition of the importance of working with traditional healers alongside Western-trained health professionals such as psychologists. However, some health professionals, particularly Western-trained ones, may not want to collaborate with traditional healers due to cultural arrogance and a limited understanding of their methods and effectiveness. This attitude hinders the potential benefits of collaboration between traditional healers and Western-trained professionals in providing holistic healthcare services to the population.
Efforts are being made to promote collaboration between psychologists and traditional healers, with the aim of learning from each other's successes and failures in treating different kinds of symptoms. By enhancing mutual understanding and communication between these two groups, they can identify the best approaches to refer clients and provide the most effective treatment for various health issues in South Africa.
Find relevant information about Traditional healers in South Africa- working with traditional healers, collaboration between traditional healers and Western-trained professionals, reasons why people prefer consulting traditional healers, reasons some health professionals do not want to collaborate in the statement below
Departments of philosophy initially offered the subject of psychology at South
African universities. For example, in 1917, the University of Stellenbosch and, in
1920, the University of Cape Town already had sub-departments of psychology
within their philosophy departments. We are unsure which university was the first
to create an independent (stand-alone) psychology department. According to
Sexton and Misiak (1976), the University of the Witwatersrand took the step in
1936, but Louw (1990) maintains that Rhodes University College had already
started an independent psychology department in 1926 with CNM Ramsay, a
senior lecturer, as the first head, and 59 students.
• Since then, psychology has grown to such an extent that all South African
universities now offer undergraduate courses, while most offer one or more
courses that can lead to registration with the HPCSA (Health Professions Council
of South Africa; One cannot practice as a psychologist without registering with this
council).
• Psychology is one of the leading areas of human science research. It is also one
of the most popular subjects: One out of every three students who qualify in the
human sciences has psychology as a major subject. The number of postgraduate
psychology students has also increased dramatically during the last few decades
(a decade is ten years).
• People often ask how the standard of psychology in South Africa compares with
the standard overseas. South African psychologists are just as good as overseas
psychologists, if not better. A study in the United States in 1982 identified the
names of the most influential psychotherapists. The top five included two former
South Africans (Smith, 1982). They are Joseph Wolpe (a psychiatrist) and Arnold
Lazarus (a clinical psychologist), who were both born in South Africa and
completed their academic training at the University of the Witwatersrand. Many
other psychologists trained in South Africa have developed successful careers
overseas. Unfortunately, their expertise has been lost to the South African
psychological community.
South African psychology at the crossroads
• There is a close link between the psychology taught at European and North
American universities and that taught in South Africa. This means that South
African psychology can maintain contact with the discipline internationally. It can
also draw on a wealth of research published overseas.
• However, the disadvantage is that South African psychology relies heavily on
research and ideas developed outside the country. As a result, the development of
South African psychology has been subject to severe biases (a bias refers to unfair
practices). Correcting these poses a major challenge for South African
psychologists of today.
(a) Biases have affected every area of psychology:
❖ South African students are primarily trained in psychological ideas
developed in North America and Europe in the academic discipline. This
knowledge might apply to only a relatively small part of South African
society. It has limited relevance (not applicable) for most South Africans
(Whittle, 1985). Consequently, South African psychology fails to reflect
our country’s unique culture. It does not address the realities of most
South Africans' circumstances, mental functioning, and problems (how
they live their lives).
❖ In the same way, most psychological research in South Africa has been
carried out on the white population. Although a few cross-cultural
research projects have been conducted, these have been small and
limited in impact. (This means that one cannot use the research results
to improve the lives of most South Africans.)
❖ Similarly, in the development of psychological tests, the focus has been
mainly on the white population. Many tests have been standardised in
English and Afrikaans. In addition, they are designed for use by first�language speakers. The results will likely be misleading when people
answer them in their second language. Hardly any tests are available for
the many South Africans who do not speak English or Afrikaans as their
mother tongue.
❖ Finally, the middle-class (mainly white) population has been the primary
beneficiary of psychological services. One reason is that the government
has provided only limited psychological services. Most psychologists
work in private practice or for organisations. Much of the population
cannot afford to consult psychologists privately and does not work for
organisations that provide psychological services to their employees.
(b) The shortage of black psychologists
Progress in psychology was not universal in all domains of psychology. In 1948,
Apartheid was introduced, and black psychologists were prohibited from joining
the Psychological Association of South Africa (PASA). Most South African
psychologists are white. Most research was done on white people, and most
services were offered to white people.
Many of the abovementioned problems will never be satisfactorily addressed
until more black psychologists from all black cultural groups fill posts as
researchers, university lecturers, and therapists.
(c) The need to extend psychological services
There is a great need for the services of clinical, counselling, and educational
psychologists. For an hour, most clinical, counselling, and educational
psychologists see clients individually (or sometimes as a couple or family). They
might see the same person once or more every week, sometimes for a few weeks
or years. In this way, very few people are reached. A single psychologist in
private practice might see less than 100 different people in a year.
Furthermore, people in disadvantaged communities cannot make use of these
services because they are:
- expensive;
- physically inaccessible since they are usually located many kilometres
away, and
- unsuitable because they are not designed to deal with the community's
specific needs and cultural settings.
To deal with these problems, community psychologists have:
• developed methods of assessing the needs and identifying the problems
of disadvantaged communities;
• developed methods of empowering communities to find their own ways
of responding to needs and solving problems;
• recommended that psychologists’ skills be taught in training workshops
so that community members can assist one another and share their skills
more widely and
• recommended that community leaders be trained to know the value of
psychological interventions (sessions) within their communities.
Psychological services are expensive even for people who do not live in seriously
disadvantaged communities. Most South Africans do not belong to medical aid
schemes, and even those who do might find that the scheme pays only a tiny
proportion of the costs. There is a need for a system that will provide these services
more widely. However, the high costs could make it impossible for large-scale
psychological services to be provided as part of the state health care system.
(d) Working with African traditional healers
African traditional healers will be an essential resource in a health system to
serve all South Africans. Previously, African traditional healers were excluded
from the health system. However, there is widespread recognition that they have
an essential role alongside medical doctors, psychologists, and other health
workers. Surveys have revealed that a large percentage of black South Africans
(who make up 85% of the total population) regularly use the services of traditional
healers. Some healers are so popular that they can charge consultation fees that
are twice as high as those of black and white medical doctors (Pretorius, 1990).
African traditional healers understand the life and culture of African people in a
way most Western health professionals do not. They can, therefore, provide
effective forms of treatment, especially for problems that are psychological in
origin. Often, Western-trained psychologists do not know or adequately
understand these problems. Some psychological perspectives, which provide a
bridge between the approaches of traditional healers and Western psychology,
have been presented previously.
In Zimbabwe, traditional healers are officially recognised by the Traditional
Medical Practitioners Act (Act No. 38 of 1981). In South Africa, traditional healers
have since been recognised by the HPCSA. Several health associations, such
as the South African National Tuberculosis Association and the National Cancer
Association of South Africa, already use traditional healers in their clinics.
Traditional healers have been trained to educate community members about
important health issues like AIDS prevention and family planning. Even in the
United States, a growing number of ‘alternative practitioners’ deal with
psychological and physical problems. In many American cities, a list of these
practitioners is available at supermarkets.
Some Western-trained health professionals do not like working alongside
traditional African healers. However, this attitude is based on cultural arrogance
and a limited understanding of the healers’ methods and effectiveness (Louw &
Pretorius, 1995). Fortunately, most South African psychologists welcome
cooperation between psychologists and traditional healers. As a starting point for
such cooperation, psychologists and traditional healers must learn more about
each other, particularly about each other’s successes and failures in treating
different kinds of symptoms (Vogelman, 1990). In this way, psychologists and
traditional healers could learn when to refer clients to each other and identify
which psychologists or traditional healers in the vicinity are best at treating
particular problems.
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