An exploratory study of trainee and registered psychologists' perceptions about indigenous healing systems

The health care system in South Africa is primarily located within the hegemonic biomedical model. The passing of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act No. 22 of 2007 paved the way for approximately 200,000 traditional healers to be formally recognized and integrated into the health care system, thus challenging the status quo. This exploratory study seeks to explore trainee and registered psychologists' perceptions about indigenous healing and its formal recognition within the existing health care infrastructure. Unstructured individual and focus group interviews were used to gather the data, which were then analysed using thematic content analysis. The results indicate that registered psychologists hold more positive views about indigenous healing compared to trainee psychologists and are more likely to collaborate with traditional healers in their work. The implications of these findings are discussed.