PART 3: MODEL OF DREAMS AS DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT TOOLS IN MENTAL HEALTH CARE PRACTICE
7.2 Summary of key findings .1 THPs’ perception of dreams
The present study sought to inquire into the personal understanding of dreams by THPs. The study revealed a diverse understanding of the concept based on how the individual THP perceived and understood the concept of dreams.
Knowledge of dreams in this study has been established as diverse among THPs.
The diverse perception shows that dreams are either a natural component of sleep or a visitation by the ancestors. There are contestations among the THPs fraternity on the perception of dreams. Whereas some believe that they are a component of sleep, others believe that they are a product of ancestors.
Importantly, the study established that there is consensus among a number of participants on the visitation of ancestors, who do not visit without a mission or a particular message that they ought to pass.
Vision was found to be an important component of dreams. THPs were said to frequently have visions in their dreams. In these visions, they see people whom they know visiting them and giving them a message that is significant for a particular purpose. The difference between dreams and visions in this study has often been contested. The contestation emerged from the difference between a dream (toro) and a vision (pono). Questions that often arise include: are visions products of dreams that is, does one receive a vision through dreams? Are dreams separate from visions or they are the same? The findings of this study have provided an answer to these fascinating questions. The conclusion drawn in this regard, therefore, is that dreams and visions experienced by ordinary
125 people are different from dreams and visions experienced by THPs. A dream by nature is a component of sleep, but with THPs, it is a method of communication for the purpose of healing, and the visions come either through dreams or when one is awake. It has therefore been established that visions that participants have through dreams are wide-ranging such that issues of mental illness cannot be spared.
The current study has established that dreams are a form of enlightening. The concept of enlightenment, therefore, refers to the unique and important information on the diagnosis that is brought about through dreams. The participants argued that in some instances, they receive important information through dreams. This information is meant to warn the person of what would happen in the future. The study has also established that dreams are considered significant for awareness because the participants would be forewarned for future unpredictable events. In this regard, it can be concluded that the world of THPs is different from that of Western practitioners, wherein there is a universally agreed upon medicine meant to treat specific mental illnesses. Also, some kinds of mental illnesses are spiritually motivated through witchcraft or anger from the ancestors. Western medical practitioners, as a result, cannot treat such kinds of mental illnesses. This is because ancestors would have a clear diagnosis and treatment options since the whole debacle is spiritually motivated.
7.2.2 The essence of dreams for THPs
The study sought to understand the role of dreams in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. The study has established that the functions of dreams among THPs include communication, illustration on performance of rituals, identification of mental illnesses and medicinal herbs, motivation and empowerment. The study has observed that the aforementioned functions have been drawn from the day-to- day activities of THPs. Despite the differences established from the Freudian scholarship interpretation of the function, there is consensus not only among THPs, but also among African people at large on the interpretation of the functions of dreams. Contributions by participants reveal that dreams can be considered an important channel through which THPs receive messages on what kind of rituals they should do in order to treat mentally ill clients. Witchcraft has also been considered to be detected through dreams by
126 some THPs. The study has noted that dreams are significant in the provision of guidance and strengthening of THPs in different ways.
In this study, THPs revealed that they consider dreams as fundamental in the diagnosis of mental illness. It was revealed that during dreams, they receive the diagnosis in different ways. For some clients, they receive them before they come for consultation, yet for others, they receive them while they are already in the process of consulting. Moreover, the study revealed that there are no specific prescriptions for different mental illness conditions from the African perspective.
The study found that mental illness from an African perspective is considered to be spiritual, which implies that there is a need for ancestral or God’s intervention in finding a specific diagnosis or prescription for specific mental illnesses. Dreams by THPs come with a meaning to provide a solution to a problem or healing to a mentally ill client.
7.2.3 Perceived sources of dreams
The current study has established that ancestors are a significant source of dreams among a number of THPs. This was argued from the basis of ancestors being responsible for calling THPs, which implies that they are responsible for providing THPs with the information that they need. As such, becoming a THP is a calling from the ancestors, which suggests that the services that they provide are in some way, directly or indirectly influenced by the ancestors. THPs are considered to be messengers of the ancestors, and dreams are considered to be a medium through which various messages are passed from ancestors to them.
On the other hand it was established from the study that some participants believe that God and the ancestors are both sources of dreams.
7.2.4 Methods used to confirm the contents of dreams
This study has established that the process of confirming the dreams begins with the throwing of traditional bones and also by an assessment of the body language of the THP. In most cases, people who are mentally ill reside at the THP’s residence or place of work during the period of receiving treatment. As such, the THP would dream about the client’s medication requirements, which are usually revealed through dreams and confirmed through divination bones, which would
127 be followed by the provision of treatment. It was established that dreams are not a single component that can be independently used to treat mental illnesses.
Body language has been presented as essential in revealing the kind of illness that the client presents with among THPs. In some cases, the assessment of body language is used in conjunction with the interpretation of dreams. The study revealed that dreams are the most essential form of intervention that is used to diagnose and propose the form of medication that the client requires. In this regard, dreams are considered essential to ascertain the kind of medication that is required to treat the client. It has also been established that it is not always the case that the specific kind of illness is revealed. The body of the THP, therefore, detects the problem that the client has. Dreams are therefore not always directly interpreted. This implies that in some cases, there are symbolic interpretations that are used to understand the meaning of certain dreams.
7.2.5 Method used to interpret the symbolic dreams
There are symbolic interpretations that are used to understand the meaning of certain dreams. The symbols are critical in the healing of mental illness, and are categorised in different forms, namely; cultural images and ancestral customs.
Through dreams, some ancestral customs are precisely observed. THPs are often given instructions to go to a certain place where they find sources of medication that they need in order to treat various types of diseases, and in this regard, mental illness is not spared.
According to the participants cultural images are a form of symbolic interpretations that bear significant spiritual meaning for THPs. The current study has observed the significance of cultural images as objects that bear significant spiritual meaning for THPs. The images include snakes and water, among other things. The images demonstrate the objects or tools that ancestors use in the healing process. The diagnosis and treatment of mental illness could be initiated through a dream in which the THP sees a common ancestral object, and is instructed to make use of the object. As such, suffice to assert that mental illnesses in the African community are spiritual. The reason is that it is believed to be caused by spiritual attacks as a result of witchcraft or as punishment from the ancestors or God.
128 7.2.6 Towards an explanatory model of dreams as diagnostic and
treatment tools in mental health care practice.
Based on the meanings derived from phenomenological accounts by the THPs, the researcher developed a model of dreams as a diagnostic and treatment tool in mental health care practice. The model presents a comprehensive process of dreams as a diagnostic and treatment tool in mental health care practice in the African context. The model acknowledges sources of dreams as God and ancestors. The treatment process begins through the symbolic interpretation of the dream.
Dreams, according to the findings of the study, come in different forms that require the THP to interpret. As the comprehensive process of treatment unfolds, there is a need for the THP to keep close contact with the client. This activity calls for the observation of the client’s behaviour for the THP to relate with the acquired symbols. This also applies in the diagnostic stage where the THP needs to observe the behaviour of the client to ensure that it coincides with the given diagnosis. This is important in case there is a missing link in the process. The THP would be able to get confirmation from the ancestors through dreams once more. Once the specific source of mental illness has been established, the next stage will be treatment. The model is limited to THPs and may also apply to faith healers.
7.3. Implications of the Study