Comparing the Beliefs and Attitudes towards Traditional Healing Methods and Modern Medical Treatment Procedures: Implications for Developing Integrative Procedures

Pages:216-222
Meetu Khosla and Yashi Goel (Department of Psychology, Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi, Delhi)

India has a pluralistic system where people with mental health problems consult different local systems of healing, which can include Indian medicine (AYUSH), allopathic services, and folk or faith healing systems. These systems operate in parallel and there is limited collaboration between them. This study aimed at comparing the beliefs and attitudes towards traditional healing methods with the modern medical treatment procedures to understand their advantages and limitations and possibilities for collaboration. In-depth interviews using open-ended questionnaires (Khosla & Das, 2019) were conducted to know in detail about the motivations, attitudes, values, cultural beliefs and the rituals etc. of the traditional healers, medical practitioners and people seeking treatment from both. The traditional healers were from rural parts of Uttar Pradesh and the medical practitioner is employed in a hospital in urban area of Mumbai. Content analysis of the data was done and common themes that emerge provide an insight into the functioning of the traditional healing practices. The findings provide valuable inputs to develop integrative interventions combining traditional healing methods and medical treatment procedures in the best possible way for effective and holistic healing of the patients.