SYMBOLIC HEALING (also known as Cultural Healing)
− a model attempting to understand health practices across different cultures
− assumes that cultural elements are always involved in health care
− can be highly effective in traditional cultures
− less effective in societies with rapid cultural change
STEPS IN SYMBOLIC HEALING
− patient and healer share a cultural model
− patient is persuaded that their problem can be mapped onto the model
− patient and healer participate in a ritual or ceremony
− patient recovers and returns to the community
MAPPING SYMPTOMS ONTO CULTURAL MODELS
− mapping is a translation of symptoms into the language of a model
− symptoms can be mapped onto a scientific theory or onto cultural symbols
RITUAL/CEREMONY
− ritual actions in modern medicine include undergoing a test or taking a pill
− psychotherapy is a ritual in the form of a different kind of conversation
TRADITIONAL DISEASE MODELS (AND MODERN ANALOGIES)
− foreign object intrusion (→ infections, drugs, toxins)
− breech of taboo (→ abuse, historical crimes)
− sorcery (→ disinformation, moral panics)
− soul loss (→ addiction, mental illness)
EXAMPLES OF MODERN CULTURAL MODELS
− ‘nervous breakdowns’ in the first half of the 20th century
− ‘recovered memory’ in the 1980-1990s
− debunked neurochemical models
PROBLEMS OF MODERN CULTURAL MODELS
− circular definitions – the model can ‘explain’ any problem
− essentialism – differences between individuals are erased
− non-specific treatments – anything can work, but nothing definitely works or lasts
− treatments lose effectiveness as the model becomes worn out
SEE ALSO:
Why I fired my therapists
The Forgotten Lessons of the Recovered Memory Movement
Chemically Imbalanced: Everyday Suffering, Medication, and Our Troubled Quest for Self-Mastery