Religious and indigenous treatment of mental illness in South India—A descriptive study
In a follow-up to an earlier study we decided to interview a number of religious
healers and ascertain their views on mental illness. A sample of ten healers-Hindu, Muslim
and Christian-were interviewed at length. In addition, jive sites of healing were visited and
various religious rituals observed. The general emphasis in care is on a pluralistic holistic
approach and individual healers have several models of mental illness in their repertoire. The
shrines are virtually spec& in dealing with specific psychiatric problems. Some healers were
able to identr.. serious mental illness and were able to refer these individuals to psychiatrists,
whereas others felt that they were able to deal with these themselves, We present accounts of our
interviews and highlight the advantages of the holistic approach and of qualitative methods of
research.