Incorporating African Indigenous Healing into the Counselling Services in Tertiary Institutions: A Preliminary Exploration

Abstract

The study explored how a tertiary institution was responding to the challenge to meet the mental health needs of students from traditional African backgrounds. The study explored the unique contribution of a traditional healing service that was availed to the students. Collaboration between the traditional healer, and psychologically trained counsellors, and the obstacles towards integration, were also explored. A qualitative research design was used. Data were collected by means of individual interviews and focus group discussions. Thirty-five, purposefully chosen stakeholders participated: African undergraduate and post-graduate students, student counsellors, leaders of the student services division, and a traditional diviner (isangoma). The findings indicate that the campus-based traditional healer specialized in treating spiritual illnesses and students’ family identity issues. All participants identified the traditional healer as an indispensable member of an interdisciplinary health care team. Infrastructural and ethical/logical issues pose a major challenge towards integration.