BJP College Seminars Series
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit an eLetter
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Neki, J. S.
Right arrow Articles by Duvinage, G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Neki, J. S.
Right arrow Articles by Duvinage, G.

The British Journal of Psychiatry 149: 145-155 (1986)
© 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Witchcraft and psychotherapy

JS Neki, B Joinet, N Ndosi, G Kilonzo, JG Hauli and G Duvinage

Belief in witchcraft, which serves a variety of social functions and personal defences, is bound to emerge in psychotherapy with individuals from a culture that holds such beliefs; endeavouring to understand it can open up new therapeutic possibilities. The nature of witchcraft, the profiles with which it intrudes into therapy, and the socio- psychological functions it fulfills are considered. Referring such patients to witchdoctors is morally unjustifiable, but the witch- doctor's folk-image provides a floating transference, around which the therapeutic relationship can be built. In dealing with witchcraft- ideation, understanding is based as much on cultural as on personal empathy, and to enhance its relevance, therapy may appropriate some of the functional dynamics of the witchcraft system into its own therapeutic manoeuvres.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Group AnalysisHome page
E. Tartakovsky
Group Psychodynamics of Witchcraft and Witch-Hunting: Immigrant Adolescents from the Former Soviet Union in Israel
Group Analysis, March 1, 2001; 34(1): 129 - 142.
[Abstract] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Psychiatric Bulletin Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals
Copyright © 1986 The Royal College of Psychiatrists.