PERCEPTION OF CAREGIVERS ON THE SPIRITUAL CONCEPTION OF MENTAL ILLNESSES AMONG CLIENTS RECEIVING TREATMENT AT FEDERAL NEUROPSYCHATRIC HOSPITAL ARO, ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE, NIGERIA
Abstract
Across Africa, there is a prevalent belief in supernatural causes of mental illnesses. Traditional belief systems heavily influence people's knowledge and attitudes towards mental health. Many
traditional belief systems in Africa associate mental health issues with factors such as the influence of ancestors or bewitchment, leading to the perception that traditional healers possess expertise in addressing these matters (Assefa et al., 2018; Gureje et al., 2020).
Theses traditional healers are consulted as either the first step in the pathway to biomedical mental healthcare or the sole providers of mental healthcare(Oquende et al., 2015). The researcher observes that the poor knowledge and attitude towards mental illnesses exhibited by the families and caregivers of mentally ill patients and the society in general leads to poor care seeking behavior for those affected(Sorsdahl, 2017).
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