Are Traditional Health Care Practices for Children with Mental Health Problems in the Tamale Metropolis in Ghana as Effective as Psychological Interventions?

Abstract

This study investigates the extent to which traditional Health Care practices for children with mental health problems in the Tamale Metropolis in Ghana are as effective as psychological interventions. The study reviews existing work on traditional health care practices, psychological interventions for mental health patients and coping strategies for parents and/or family members of children with mental health problems to build a conceptual framework that is appropriate for examining health care practices for children with mental health problems in Tamale, in northern Ghana. The study details the traditional health care practices that children with mental health problems receive from especially traditional healers who believe that issues of mental health are caused by the activities of witches and wizards. The findings of this study suggest that the burden of care for children with mental health problems solely rests on parents, family members, and traditional healers and to a lesser extent the psychiatric hospital. Some coping strategies, however, have been adopted by parents of children with mental health problems, the major strategy being the ‘God motif’ by which parents are able to ‘survive’ stigmatization and stress.

Keywords: care, children, health, mental, psychological, traditional