Bringing Dava and Dua together
Milesh Hamlai is the founder of Altruist, an organization based in Ahmedabad that is the pioneer of the Dava and Dua model in India. He explains how places of worship can play a role in the detection and treatment of mental illness.
Mental illnesses in India are often attributed to supernatural phenomena, and many who suffer from them are subjected to various kinds of 'magical-religious treatments’. This is because of prevailing local systems of belief wherein many patients' relatives, even from urban backgrounds, stick to prayers or religious rituals instead of availing psychiatric treatment or psychotherapy.
People’s belief systems and preferred treatment modalities should be understood within their cultural context. Hence, the role of traditional healers should not be neglected. In fact, they can be trained to help mental health professionals. They could advise patients to continue their medical treatment and follow up while keeping religious faith intact. Co-operation between traditional healers and professionals may increase patients’ compliance for medical treatment.
Some of the pragmatic strategies on combining traditional healing with psychiatric treatment based on my experiences of setting up the Dava and Dua programme since 2008 are below:
- Identify religious places where mentally ill people are referred to traditional healers and priests.
- Sensitize the concerned priests on the rights of the mentally ill.
- Sensitize the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment to the existence of these places.
- Establish a link between mental health professionals and the traditional healers.
- Form a network of government departments, local administration, priests and mental health professionals.
- Train traditional healers in mental health practices.
- Conduct Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities within religious places.
- Establish Dava and Dua centres at religious places and appoint trained workers.
- Provide free psychiatric consultation, psychological assessment and therapies along with medicine supplies at every Dava and Dua centre.
- Establish a referral and follow-up system for the users for continuity of care.
- Establish a monitoring committee chaired by the District Magistrate / District Judge, with the District Health Officer, a local police officer, a local medical officer, two representatives from the local community, a representative from the religious place, and a mental health professional as other members.
Those looking for help for mental health-related issues in Gujarat can call +91 97221 00101 or +91 97221 00200 or send a mail to Milesh Hamlai at