Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:1477-1481
Copyright © 1981 by American Psychiatric Association
Folk healing: a description and synthesis
RC Ness and RM Wintrob
All societies have developed ways of dealing with physical and mental
illness, defined as folk healing systems. The authors review the systems of
folk healing that have evolved in different cultural groups in the United
States. They describe the faith healing practices of fundamentalist
Christian groups, the belief in rootwork among white and black people in
the southeastern United States, curanderismo among Mexican-Americans, and
espiritismo among Americans from Puerto Rico. Most believers in folk
healing also go to physicians for medical care. The authors argue that
physicians should familiarize themselves with patients' folk healing
beliefs in order to serve them more effectively.
