Review Article

Indigenous and faith healing for mental health in Ghana: An examination of the literature on reported beliefs, practices and use of alternative mental health care in Ghana

Lily Kpobi, Leslie Swartz
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine | Vol 11, No 1 | a1941 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.1941 | © 2019 Lily Kpobi, Leslie Swartz | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 13 September 2018 | Published: 15 July 2019

About the author(s)

Lily Kpobi, Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Leslie Swartz, Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Abstract

Background: For many people in African countries, various forms of health care are utilised for the treatment of illness. This pluralistic nature of health seeking includes the use of indigenous, faith and allopathic medicines for care.

Aim: In this article, our aim was to gain insight into the existing knowledge on indigenous and faith healing in Ghana, with a particular focus on mental health care. We first examine the reported mental health beliefs and practices of Ghanaian alternative healers. Following this, we look at the use and purported preference for non-biomedical mental health care by patients.

Methods: Relevant literature was examined to explore the beliefs, practices and use of non-biomedical mental health care systems in Ghana

Results: Evidence for the use and preference for non-biomedical mental health care is largely anecdotal. Similarly, the mental health beliefs of alternative healers have been documented in various small-scale studies. However, such information is important if mental health services in Ghana are to be improved.

Conclusion: Integration of the different healthcare systems must be built on knowledge of beliefs and methods. A clearer understanding of the work of non-biomedical healers is important if appropriate recommendations are to be made for collaboration between biomedical and non-biomedical systems in Ghana.


Keywords

mental health; faith healing; indigenous; Ghana; beliefs; practices

Metrics

Total abstract views: 5612
Total article views: 7849

 

Crossref Citations

1. Caregivers’ Experience of Supporting Deaf Adults with Mental Health Disorders in Ghana
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Ebenezer Mensah Gyimah, Shakila Nur, Juventus Duorinaah, Lilian Frimpomaa, Maria Efstratopoulou
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health  vol: 22  issue: 2  first page: 144  year: 2025  
doi: 10.3390/ijerph22020144

2. Seeking Healing for a Mental Illness: Understanding the Care Experiences of Service Users at a Prayer Camp in Ghana
L. Gyimah, A. Ofori-Atta, S. Asafo, L. Curry
Journal of Religion and Health  vol: 62  issue: 3  first page: 1853  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01643-0

3. mHealth and Digital Innovations as Catalysts for Transforming Mental Health Care in Ghana
Enoch Sackey, Angela Ofori-Atta, Sammy Ohene, Kwadwo Obeng, Dror Ben-Zeev
Global Health: Science and Practice  vol: 12  issue: 6  first page: e2400062  year: 2024  
doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-24-00062

4. Structural stigma and mental healthcare in Ghana: psychiatric nurses’ perspectives
David Kofi Mensah, Michelle Anne Parsons
Anthropology & Medicine  vol: 32  issue: 1  first page: 50  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1080/13648470.2025.2508118

5. Beneficiaries’ satisfaction with health insurance and associated factors in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Bizunesh Fantahun Kase, Abdu Hailu Shibeshi, Abubeker Alebachew Seid, Molla Getie Mehari, Abdulkerim Hassen Moloro
BMJ Open  vol: 15  issue: 2  first page: e089029  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089029

6. Determinants of Postnatal Depression Among Mothers Seeking Care at a District-Level Hospital.
Millicent Ewurama Acquah, Williams Ampadu Oduro
Next Research  first page: 101048  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1016/j.nexres.2025.101048

7. Understanding the demographic and socioeconomic determinants of morbidity in Eastern Uganda: a retrospective analysis of the Iganga-Mayuge health and demographic surveillance data
Steve Bicko Cygu, Betty Nabukeera, Lindsey English, Shakira Babirye, Collins Gyezaho, Maureen Ng'etich, Michael Ochola, David Amadi, Henry Owoko Odero, Grace Banturaki, Damazo Twebaze Kadengye, Agnes Kiragga, Dan Kajungu
BMJ Public Health  vol: 2  issue: 2  first page: e000898  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2024-000898

8. Development of a vocational rehabilitation intervention to support return-to-work and well-being following major trauma: a person-based approach
Kate Radford, Jade Kettlewell, Roshan das Nair, Richard Morriss, Jain Holmes, Blerina Kellezi, Stephen Timmons, Trevor Jones, Hereward Tresidder, Isobel Andrews, Kay Bridger, Priya Patel, Rebecca Lindley, Blanca De Dios Perez, Abigail Statham, Tadeusz Jones, Karen Hoffman, Marilyn James, Denise Kendrick
BMJ Open  vol: 14  issue: 10  first page: e085724  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-085724

9. Making health insurance responsive to citizens: learning from six low-income and middle-income countries
Anas Ismail, Inke Mathauer, Patricia Akweongo, Mery Concepcion Bolivar Vargas, Sapna Desai, Dinna Prapto Raharja, Modupe Adeoti Ogundimu, Stela Stojisavljevic, Manuela De Allegri, Zubin Cyrus Shroff
BMJ Global Health  vol: 7  issue: Suppl 6  first page: e018176  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2024-018176

10. Knowledge and use of art therapy for mental health treatment among clinical psychologists
Eugenia Priscilla Doku Asare, Sandra Boatemaa Kushitor, Edward Kofi Sutherland, Millicent Ofori Boateng, Stephen Manortey, Lily Kpobi
PLOS ONE  vol: 19  issue: 5  first page: e0303246  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303246

11. A qualitative study exploring community pharmacists’ perspectives of child and adolescent mental healthcare
Irene A. Kretchy, Edem K. Blewuada, Akosua B. Debrah
Scientific African  vol: 13  first page: e00969  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2021.e00969

12. Mental health difficulties, coping mechanisms and support systems among school-going adolescents in Ghana: A mixed-methods study
Noella Dufie Addy, Faith Agbozo, Silvia Runge-Ranzinger, Pauline Grys, Eugene Kofuor Maafo Darteh
PLOS ONE  vol: 16  issue: 4  first page: e0250424  year: 2021  
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250424

13. A Qualitative Exploration of Causes of Depression among Persons Living with HIV Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy in Uganda: Implications for Policy
Rwamahe Rutakumwa, Christine Tusiime, Richard Stephen Mpango, Leticia Kyohangirwe, Pontiano Kaleebu, Vikram Patel, Eugene Kinyanda, Lenin Pavon
Psychiatry Journal  vol: 2023  first page: 1  year: 2023  
doi: 10.1155/2023/1986908

14. Mental health services for the deaf: an exploratory study of the aetiology, sources of information, and access to mental health services among deaf persons in Ghana
Maxwell Peprah Opoku, Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah, Juventus Duorinaah, Ebenezer Mensah Gyimah, William Nketsia, Lyla Adwan-Kamara
BMC Health Services Research  vol: 24  issue: 1  year: 2024  
doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11849-5

15. Magnitude of low back pain and associated factors among primary school teachers in Borama City, Somaliland: an institutional-based cross-sectional study
Mekonin Meskelu Shegere, Ahmed Moumin Abdilahi, Seid Yimam Ali, Najah Bouh Farah, Bilan Abdi Adem, Asma Jemal Nour
BMJ Open  vol: 15  issue: 8  first page: e099934  year: 2025  
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-099934