Page 54 - FCN

This lack of mental health literacy has allowed religious healers to fill the vacuum
Given a dearth of options for mental health patients and the spiritual stigma surrounding mental health
episodes, spiritual healers, priests, and clerics have filled the treatment vacuum with cheaper, faith-based
approaches.
Literally means ‘incantation’, ruqyah, is a form of spiritual treatment that uses prayer to cure mental
illness. Adi Supriadi, an Islamic preacher who practices ruqyah in his native West Java, told ASEAN Today,
“Various mental health problems can be cured with ruqyah.” “By reciting the verses of the Qur’an or
hadith by not changing the sentence structure and believing,” he said, “a Muslim can build a health
mentality.”
For Adi, ruqyah is a valuable supplement to modern medicine. When the patient and their family are in
between doctor’s visits, Adi believes ruqyah can be a valuable addition to their treatment plan. As
patients pay as much or as little as they are willing for ruqyah, the financial barriers present in other
forms of treatment are not present in faith-based approaches.
Research on mental illness
Historically, researchers have strived to understand and treat mental disorders, leading to significant
progress in classifying and treating these conditions. Today, psychotherapy and medication, such as
antidepressants and antipsychotics, are the primary forms of treatment for mental illness. However, the
deeply rooted stigma surrounding mental health still poses significant challenges. The internalization of
stigmas may lead to self-prejudice which in turn can lead a person to experience negative emotional
reactions, interfering with a person's quality of life. Research has shown a significant relationship
between shame and avoiding treatment. A study measuring this relationship found that research
participants who expressed shame from personal experiences with mental illnesses were less likely to
participate in treatment. Additionally, family shame is also a predictor of avoiding treatment. Research
showed that people with psychiatric diagnoses were more likely to avoid services if they believed family
members would have a negative reaction to said services. Hence, public stigma can influence self-stigma,
which has been shown to decrease medical treatment involvement.

a.

State whether the statements are true or false based on the reading
No Statement T/F
1 People with mental health sometimes are discriminated against. [ ]
2 The number of people with mental health in Indonesia is high. [ ]
3 People with a mental health issue is sometimes related to demonic [ ]
possession.
4 The family of people with mental health issues believed that Ruqyah is [ ]
another alternative plan to medical treatment.
5 People still make negative judgments about people with mental health [ ]
6 Many people believe that isolating family members who have mental illness is [ ]
the best way to avoid society’s judgment.

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