Neuropsychiatric Observations in the Western Region of Nigeria

Ta, Lambo

doi:10.1136/bmj.2.5006.1388

Cited by 94 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…In Nigeria, however, data on prevalence of mental disorders in old age are scanty. Although some workers have included the elderly in cross-sectional studies of mental disorders in Nigeria, these have been restricted to hospital records (Lambo, 1956(Lambo, , 1966Asuni, 1976;Ihezue and Okpara, 1989;Ogunlesi, 1989;Mafullul and Ikwuagu, 1996). The most robust community study of elderly Nigerians focused on dementia (Hendrie et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The pattern of psychiatric disorders among the aged in a selected community in Nigeria

Uwakwe

2000

Int. J. Geriat. Psychiatry

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The pattern of psychiatric disorders among the aged in a selected community in Nigeria

Uwakwe

2000

Int. J. Geriat. Psychiatry

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“…It has long been recognised that traditional healing practices exist side-by-side with modern medical practice (Lambo, 1956;Orley, 1970;Ademuwagun, 1976: Imperato, 1976. A signifi cant proportion of people seek care from tradi tional and spiritual healers whom they consult for a range of medical problems.…”

Section: Traditional Healers In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Traditional healers and mental illness in Uganda

1999

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Aims and methodA cross-sectional, interview survey of the beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and practice towards mental illness of 29 traditional healers in the Pallisa district of Uganda was carried out.ResultsMany of the healers had experienced emotional problems that had been treated by other healers. Almost all had a family member who was also a traditional healer. They treated a wide range of conditions and all dealt with mental illness. Most believed that mental disorders were caused by supernatural processes. Many recognised the role of environmental agents. Their diagnosis and management of mental illness was eclectic. The healers were either traditional herbalists or spirit diviners or a mixture of both. Almost all referred patients to the district hospitals and were willing to work with government health services.Clinical implicationsThe results of the survey suggest the presence of fertile ground on which to build cooperation between traditional healers and medical services. Such cooperation may harness primary care resources more effectively. Sequential or simultaneous models of collaboration (or combinations of both) may be considered. Further work on specific treatments, their outcomes and the evaluation of collaborative models is needed.

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“…With the introduction of modern psychiatry into Africa in 1954 (Lambo, 1956(Lambo, , 1957(Lambo, , 1959(Lambo, , 1960(Lambo, , 1961, the first step was to integrate and refine indigenous resources. In many of these countries the medical services and resources are limited and poor.…”

Section: The Village As a Therapeutic Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychotherapy in Africa

Lambo¹

1974

Psychother Psychosom

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Psychotherapy in Africa, especially in the traditional era, formed part and parcel of the social fabric. It is therefore as old as any of the institutional aspects of African civilization. It pervades almost every aspect of life and today constitutes an important and built-in component of the African social and religious life. It must not be forgotten that Reik (1931), in his psychoanalytical studies of ritual, regards the mythological world of the primitives as ‘older than religion’, and, according to him, ‘it is one of the oldest wish-compensations of mankind in its eternal struggle with external and internal forces’. Historically, Reik considers the mythological approach as ‘of the highest importance for our understanding of the first psychological conflicts of primitive peoples’. In this context and within the African social, cultural, and historical life, psychotherapy can be broadly defined as specific and specialized efforts directed towards, or actions taken for the purpose of, positively influencing the human mind, especially his thought, feeling and behaviour with the object of promoting good mental health and human well-being. Its ultimate objective is to effect a measurable change in the personality. The methods employed for this purpose are multiple and they vary from individual to group, from a variety of magico-religious rites to well-formulated and articulated quasi-mathematical procedures, invested with a fanciful, poetic, and most attractive gab, known as Ifa; from the use of hypnosis, trances, suggestion and persuasion to mystic invocations to the spirits. Thus men and spirits are brought together in mystic and emotional relationship ‘in a joint endeavour to conserve and promote good mental health by a ritualistic technique as the link with the providential sources of life...’ The cultures of Africa recognize the different layers of the human psyche and, consequently, the existence of, and distinction between, ‘conscious’ and ‘unconscious’ forces which determine human behaviour. There is, in many of these cultures, a bewildering array of vast and complicated systems of psychotherapeutic practices which, in spite of their diversity, emphasize that reality consists in the relation not of men with things, but of men with other men, and of all men with spirits. The attitudes towards disease in general, and mental illness in particular, and the methods of coping with it, vary from culture to culture. In Africa, the concepts of health and disease can be regarded as constituting a continuous transition with almost imperceptible gradations. In these and related cultures, the determinants of health and disease are conceptualized holistically. Psychotherapy, therefore, within the African context, is an indispensable phase of a variety of institutionalized processes to promote human well-being: ‘averting the wrath of gods or spirits, making rain, purifying streams or habitations, improving sex potency or fecundity or the fertility of fields and crops – in short, it is bound up with the whole interpretatio...

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Neuropsychiatric Observations in the Western Region of Nigeria

Cited by 94 publications

References 5 publications

The pattern of psychiatric disorders among the aged in a selected community in Nigeria

The pattern of psychiatric disorders among the aged in a selected community in Nigeria

Traditional healers and mental illness in Uganda

Psychotherapy in Africa

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