Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho

Thesis (MNur)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Thibinyane, Nteboheleng
Other Authors: Felix, R.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2026
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613894833340416
access_status_str Open Access
author Thibinyane, Nteboheleng
author2 Felix, R.
author_browse Felix, R.
Thibinyane, Nteboheleng
author_facet Felix, R.
Thibinyane, Nteboheleng
author_sort Thibinyane, Nteboheleng
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (MNur)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136608
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:43:24.214Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
record_format dspace
source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136608 Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho Thibinyane, Nteboheleng Felix, R. Schutte, L. Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Nursing and Midwifery. Thesis (MNur)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Thibinyane, N. 2026. Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/5c3eac26-3bc6-4f0b-9ede-9a0c97c44caf Background: A shortage of specialised mental health providers often encourages mental health care users to seek mental health services from alternative medicine providers such as traditional healers. Traditional healers form a substantial part of the alternative mental health workforce globally as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Lesotho, the most culturally acceptable form of alternative medicine is traditional healing. Due to the nature of the illness, mental disorders are often culturally implied to be the result of an external supernatural and evil attack, which should be treated culturally. The current study is based on the researcher’s concern for inadequate integration of traditional healers in the care of mental disorders despite the evident trust patients have in them, and the available mental health gap. Methods: This study was aimed at exploring the experiences of mental health nurses with incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders. The objectives of the study were to describe mental health nurses’ experiences of the influence of culture in the care of mental disorders and to explore mental health nurses’ experiences with incorporation of traditional healers in the care of mental disorders to provide culturally congruent care. The researcher used a qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Participants were purposely sampled from mental health nurses with at least two years of experience. The final sample size was nine. The researcher deployed a manual interpretive data analysis. Findings: The findings indicate that traditional healers are minimally incorporated in the care of mental disorders. Health education is the most common incorporative strategy used by mental health nurses. Patients with mental illness are faced with stigma and discrimination that is influenced by cultural beliefs and practices. Conclusion: The study draws the conclusion that mental health nurses need support in the provision of culturally congruent care and effective incorporation of traditional healers in caring for patients. Masters 2026-05-26T06:48:06Z 2026-05-26T06:48:06Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136608 en Stellenbosch University 97 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Thibinyane, Nteboheleng
Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho
title Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho
title_full Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho
title_fullStr Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho
title_full_unstemmed Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho
title_short Incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders: The experiences of mental health nurses in Lesotho
title_sort incorporating traditional healers in the care of mental disorders the experiences of mental health nurses in lesotho
url https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136608
work_keys_str_mv AT thibinyanenteboheleng incorporatingtraditionalhealersinthecareofmentaldisorderstheexperiencesofmentalhealthnursesinlesotho