The professional identity of South African clinical psychologists who are also sangomas.

Abstract

In South Africa, a traditional African and Western healing system exist side by side and the basic tenets of these systems appear to differ. The coexistence of these different healing systems raises the question of the interrelationship between them and the healers associated with them. Against this backdrop, there is a relatively new and fascinating phenomenon of a small grouping of clinical psychologists who have crossed professional boundaries to become sangomas and have adopted dual identity. The five psychologist-sangomas interviewed for this qualitative study represent a microcosm of the interaction of Western and African healing paradigms. The study aims to develop an understanding of how the five participants perceive and construct their professional identities, how they see themselves in relation to these healing systems and how their understanding of professional identity and choice of healing system affects their practice. To this end a psychoanalytic interpretive method of analysis, that combines both a social discursive psychological and psychoanalytic interpretive dimension, has been chosen. The method involves conducting detailed identity position analyses for all five participants with the aim of bringing to light tensions, contradictions and conflicts in the way in which participants position themselves professionally. It also allows for hypotheses to be made about hidden anxieties and defences that underlie the positions adopted. Researcher subjectivity such as countertransference and intersubjective interactions between participants and researcher has been engaged in order to ground and support interpretations made. The research indicates that while all participants have experienced some degree of conflict in holding dual identity, each one has found a different way of resolving the conscious and unconscious conflicts related to their professional identity.