Article Sidebar
Published:
Jun 21, 2013Article Details
http://www.sajp.org.za/index.php/sajp/pages/view/policies#part_4
Copyright
The author(s) retain copyright on work published by AOSIS unless specified otherwise.
Licensing and publishing rights
Author(s) of work published by AOSIS are required to grant AOSIS the unlimited rights to publish the definitive work in any format, language and medium, for any lawful purpose.
AOSIS requires journal authors to publish their work in open access under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Read more here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The authors retain the non-exclusive right to do anything they wish with the published article(s), provided attribution is given to the applicable journal with details of the original publication, as set out in the official citation of the article published in the journal. The retained right specifically includes the right to post the article on the authors’ or their institution’s websites or in institutional repositories.
Previously published work may have been published under a different licence. We advise the community that if they would like to reuse the work to consult the applicable licence at article level.
Main Article Content
Exploring the role of Islam in perceptions of mental illness in a sample of Muslim psychiatrists based in Johannesburg
Abstract
Objective. To explore perceptions of mental illness, particularly in terms of the role of Islam in the understanding of mental illness among South African Muslim psychiatrists practising in Johannesburg.
Methods. Using a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 7 Muslim psychiatrists in the
Johannesburg area. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed data.
Results. Psychiatrists subscribe to a more biomedical model of illness. The findings of this study also suggest that psychiatrists attempt to remain objective and to refrain from imposing their religious and cultural beliefs on their patients. However, their conceptualisation of mental illness is influenced by their religion and culture. Furthermore, all participating psychiatrists indicated that they always draw on Islamic values when treating their patients. Issues of cultural competence were also highlighted. Psychiatrists indicated that they were open to collaboration with traditional healers and psychologists but that this was quite challenging.
Conclusion. The necessity for formal bodies to develop routes for collaboration between healthcare professionals and traditional healers was
brought to the fore. So, too, was the need to incorporate indigenous theory and knowledge into mainstream definitions and approaches to mental illness.
