Psychiatrist, traditional healer and culture integrated in clinical practice in Bali.

This paper considers the psychiatrist-traditional healer relationship in clinical management of mental disorders in Bali. It also concerns the role of sociocultural factors in the etiology and management of mental disorder. The basic concepts and therapeutic strategies of Western psychiatry co-exist with the beliefs and methods of traditional healers. Often psychiatrists and traditional healers are involved with the same patients. A clinical case study of an episode of mass dissociative disorder (trance state) in which psychiatrists acted as consultants illustrates the integration of concepts of Western psychiatry and Balinese culture in the diagnostic evaluation and therapeutic strategies.