Am J Psychiatry. 1976 Jan; 133(1): 95-7.

Psychiatry and folk healing: a dichotomy?

Ruiz P, Langrod J.

A mental health center's experience with folk healers in a Hispanic urban ghetto revealed a culturally accepted belief system based on a body of empirical knowledge that helps its members to cope with distress. The authors suggest that including folk healers as team members in the delivery of mental health services is a valuable contribution to psychiatry.