Seeking help from faith healers among Iraqi patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

Abstract EN

Background : Faith healing is common in Arab culture.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is linked to religious beliefs and this can affect its management as patients may seek help from faith healers rather than mental health professionals.

Patients and methods : Patients who received a diagnosis of OCD according to DSM-IV-TR completed a questionnaire containing questions about age, gender, marital state, residence, income, level of education, and occupation.

Also, data was collected on help-seeking from a faith healer and on religiosity.

The data was analyzed by using the statistical package of the social sciences (SPSS).

Results : 58.5 % of OCD patients had sought help from faith healers and this was significantly associated with being religious (p value .003).

There was no association with other variables.

Conclusion : Iraqi mental health professionals should be aware of patient’s experience of faith healing as this is common among OCD patients.

The findings also raise interesting questions regarding the need for a dialogue between health professionals and faith healers in the interest of providing optimal care to OCD patients.