The current study’s aim was to explore and document the role of South Asian traditional healers residing in Toronto as it has been observed that South Asians tend to approach these traditional healers for assistance with their physical, psychological and spiritual distresses. These healers were interviewed about their background, training, the South Asian traditional healing processes and their thoughts on collaboration with Western Mental Health practitioners. The data was analyzed using Grounded Theory. The results revealed that these traditional healers closely followed the South Asian traditional healing theories and cultural norms in their practices. The healing processes reflected the ideas of holism, planetary effects and religious healing. The traditional healers also expressed eagerness to associate with the Western Mental Health care services to benefit their clients. The findings suggest that South Asian traditional healers play a major role in the lives of South Asians.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/17216 |
| Date | 26 February 2009 |
| Creators | Rai, Aanchal |
| Contributors | Moodley, Roy |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 957029 bytes, application/pdf |
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