Traditional non-verbal psychotherapies in Africa

Journal title PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE
Author/s Henri Collomb
Publishing Year 2022 Issue 2022/2 Language Italian
Pages 16 P. 189-204 File size 73 KB
DOI 10.3280/PU2022-002001
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The report presented by Henri Collomb (1913-1979) at a conference in Istanbul in 1970 and pub-lished in 1972 is translated here into Italian for the first time. The French psychiatrist describes the significance attributed to mental health suffering among the Wolof and Lébou of Senegal, the society’s behaviors toward the suffering individual, and the structure of the native therapeutic in-stitutions. Henri Collomb also exposes the traditional healing methods and techniques. Lastly, the article discusses the integration, articulation, and possible conflict between Western psychothera-py and so-called traditional therapeutics, inviting the clinician working in other contexts to place himself in a position of listening and deciphering of local nosological representations and healing practices.

Keywords: Ethnopsychiatry; Mental health; Senegal; Traditional therapeutic practices; Non-verbal psychotherapies

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Henri Collomb, Psicoterapie tradizionali non verbali in Africa in "PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE" 2/2022, pp 189-204, DOI: 10.3280/PU2022-002001