Preface
The incidence of mental disorders is globally accepted
as major health disaster affecting human well-being and normal functioning.
Statistics have shown that the number people with mental illness is
increasingly growing, therefore, procedures of prevention and therapeutic
techniques of mental illness should be made available to all mentally disturbed
individuals all over the world, with regard to their races, diversity in their
attitudes, beliefs, and deeply rooted tradition. The importance of spiritual factor
in mental health is now widely accepted. Religious healing has been practiced
by many cultures for many years, and is an accepted mode of treatment in
different cultures. Permanent seeking for traditional healers in both urban and
rural areas in Sudan in particular, and worldwide have led to the development
of folk psychotherapy to cure a wide range of psychological problems. It is
clear that that healing beliefs and practices are beneficial to mental health.
Mental
illness
With regard to definition of specific nature of mental
illness, however, psychologists often state that mental disorder involve
behaviour that is distressing, dysfunctional, and different from the social
norms. Theories that have attempted to explain the etiology of mental illness include
the biological approach, the psychodynamic, the behavioural, and the
sociocultural. The most frequently
used sources for classifying mental disorders are: Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); the first edition was published in195, and
the most recent edition, called DSM-1V. The other classification is
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) – (WHO) [8]. Mental illnesses
have different types and degrees of severity. Neuroses or disorders based on
anxiety, patients who experience these disorders usually report being restless,
however, these people typically live in the community, rather than in a
hospital. According to statistics, this group of anxiety –related disorders
affects many people all over the world. In other words, millions of people are
anxious, unhappy, and afraid. Anxiety-related disorders include: Generalized
anxiety disorders, Panic disorders, Phobic disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive
disorders, Post-traumatic stress disorders, and Conversion disorders. The most
common characteristics among patients suffering from neuroses are their touch
with the reality. As observed by the researchers in this study, patients'
beliefs in traditional healers and well-oriented with the nature of their
disorders and stress [9]. Psychoses are major mental illnesses that are
characterized by severe symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations,
disturbances of the thinking process, and defects of judgment and insight.
Psychotic patients show thought distortion, emotional unrest, and abnormal
patterns of behaviour. Such patients are often off reality (derealisation), do
not know that they are ill (lack of insight) and they have obvious confusion
concerning the outside world. Generally, psychoses are divided into organic and
functional psychoses. Organic psychoses are those disturbances connected with a
physical defect of or brain damage, e.g. Alzheimer and Epilepsy. Whereas,
functional psychoses occur due to psychological or non-organic factors e.g.
Schizophrenia and Affective psychoses. Nevertheless, many researchers believe
that this distinction between organic and functional is probably inaccurate,
because almost all psychoses are currently believed to result from some
structural or biochemical change in the brain [10].
Traditional
healing
According to World Health Organization (WHO),
traditional medicine is an overall product of knowledge, skills and practices
based on beliefs and experiences relevant to a distinct or particular people.
Traditional healing aims to achieve certain objectives such as maintenance of
health, as well as prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of physical and mental
illness. Spiritual healing is dated back an ancient from of healing to
ancestors who believed in superstition and supernatural forces such as devils and
evil spirits as causative of mental disorders. Hence, the role of spiritual was
to get rid of such demons from the patient’s brain [11]. Most of religious
healers claim that cure is from the God, and they have a belief in verified
ways of healing process. In Sudan native religious healers throughout northern
Sudan is known as the faki. The faki usually share the value and attitudes of
his community. He plays multiple roles as a religious healer, teacher, diviner
and religious leader. Also plays a very important role, especially in rural
Sudan, in addition, he is a community leaders and he is usually consulted in a
number of social issues, they well known, trusted and respected by all the
members of his community. The treatment of the faki is based mainly on the holy
Quran and Sunna.
Traditional
medicine in Sudan
Sudan traditional healing or medicine; is regarded as
being unique because it combines a mixture of Islamic, Arabic, and African
cultures. In poor and remote parts of the country, traditional medicine has
become the most practical treatment for a variety of mental disorders and their
patients. According to the Sudanese general traditional medicine, plants and
herbs are intensively used in curing different diseases and ailments, specific
traditional medicine on contrast, can also be divided into two separate
entities: Religious healing, which based on Islamic culture; uses The Holy
Quran and Prophetic tradition. Non-religious healing, which is based on African
culture; believes in secular practices such as black magic and Zar. As matter
of fact, traditional medicine makes use of different natural elements.
Therefore, traditional medicine experts are well-versed on the use of plants
and herbs for both medical and nutritional purposes to patients, as well as
being recognized as professionals on patients' attitudes and beliefs towards
traditional healing [12]. Traditional healer is characterized as an outstanding
individual who claims ability or having a healing power to cure mental illness,
or a particular skill to treat specific types of physical complaints. In Sudan,
traditional healing is the popular and widely spread way of treating people
with psychiatric illness, owing to traditional healers have high reputation and
recognized among in the society. Traditional healers as they are aware of local
treatment options, as well as about the physical, emotional and spiritual lives
of the people they serve, are able to influence their behaviour. Therefore, it
is necessary to consider traditional healers as effective health care providers
for patients suffering from mental disorders, and also to consider their
remarkable contribution in meeting the needs of those helpless patients [7].
The religious healers in traditional and religious centres in Sudan use many techniques
and methods for healing and treatment for mental illness, such as the
traditional management includes reading Quran on the patient, drinking water
with papers soaked, wearing amulets and fumigation.