AN ETHNOMEDICAL STUDY OF THERAPEUTIC METAPHORS & ANIMISTIC VIEW OF PAIN AND DISEASE

Iran-Khansarak-2000

Farzad Goli
POB: 81465/767. Isfahan, Iran

    This study evaluates some shamanistic and mystic treatments, such as walking around fire to give fire the pain, walking around patient to catch his/her illness and touch a bird or a flower to
transfer illness to them. Some of these magic managements seem to be effective specially on symptom relief. 

   This phenomena can be explained as some types of hypnotherapy with therapeutic metaphors. These facts imply that cultural context & folk beliefs can be used (as a basis) by some sorts of psychotherapy.