There have been studies to show that Traditional & faith Based Healers play very important roles in addressing mental health care needs in Ghana by offering what is religiously or culturally acceptable to the mentally ill. The MHA, has therefore seen the need to collaborate with such practitioners who in most cases are the first point of call to the mentally ill at the onset of a crisis.
In traditional African belief systems, mental health problems are perceived as due to ancestors or by bewitchment and traditional healers and religious advisors are viewed as having expertise in these areas. Furthermore, these sources of care are often more accessible than the orthodox forms of mental health care.
The collaboration therefore involves the training of traditional and faith based healers to first have a fair understanding of cases patients present, act on those that require no medication, but have the capacity to improve with some show of care and refer those they are unable to handle to medical practitioners who will be attached to such places.