Perceptions of mental illness in Ethiopia: a profile of attitudes, beliefs and practices among community members, healthcare workers and traditional healers

Abstract

This study explores perceptions of mental illness in a sample of Ethiopian community members, healthcare workers and traditional healers. Specifically, the attitudes, beliefs and practices associated with the symptoms, causes and treatment of mental illness were investigated. A total of 115 participants were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire to explore their perceptions of depression, anxiety and psychosis. Qualitative analysis of the interview responses indicated a range of beliefs about the recognition and etiology of mental illness. Nine themes were identified in response to the questions how do you identify and what causes mental illness: Psychocultural appropriateness, Religious/spiritual, Social difficulty, Behavioral disturbance, Cognitive-emotional impairment, Disaster and economic deprivation, Adaptive functioning, Substance abuse and Physical/medical. The most frequent response for how to identify depression and anxiety was negative emotions, while the most frequent answer for recognizing psychosis was bizarre or unusual behavior. Both modern and traditional treatments were cited as helpful, depending on the disorder. Implications for clinical assessment and policy planning are discussed.

Keywords:

• Africa
• Ethiopia
• mental illness
• perceptions

Notes on contributors

Dr Nicole Monteiro is a clinical psychologist who has a diverse range of international clinical and research experiences, including work in Bahrain, Liberia, Haiti, Grenada, Peru, Ethiopia and Senegal. She is currently lecturing in the Department of Psychology at the University of Botswana and serves as coordinator of the Department's Psychology Clinic. Dr Monteiro's professional interests include cross-cultural research, global mental health policy, psychological treatment of trauma, and psychotherapy with ethnic minority populations. She founded CHAD – Center for Healing and Development, a global health research organization. Dr Monteiro completed the Harvard Program for Refugee Trauma's Global Mental Health Master's Certificate Program where she obtained in-depth training in research and policy work with culturally diverse traumatized populations, refugee mental health and post-conflict recovery.

Professor Shyngle K. Balogun graduated with BS (Hons) in Psychology in 1984 from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. After the Compulsory National Service for a year he went back to the same university for his MSc (1986) and PhD (1991). Balogun, who joined the same department as a Teaching Assistant in February 1988, specialises in Applied Experimental Social Psychology. He became a full staff member in November 1988 as an Assistant Lecturer, and rose through the ranks to become a full professor of Psychology in 2003. Balogun, who was the Dean of the Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan between 2010 and 2012, has published widely in applied social psychology, in local and international outlets. His inaugural lecture, which he delivered in 2011, was titled “Dancing in the Social Jungle”. Balogun is currently on sabbatical leave with University of Botswana for the year 2013.