By Azmat Haroon
Doha: Most psychiatrists in Qatar do not reject the idea of religious treatment for patients suffering psychological problems, says a senior psychiatry consultant.
“Many patients who come to our clinic tell us that they get satisfaction from religious or traditional treatments,” said Dr Taher Shaltout, Senior Consultant of Psychiatry at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC).
Although the Psychiatry Department at HMC does not have defined approaches to religious treatments, many patients are increasingly seeking such treatments.
Many patients in Qatar undergo psychiatric treatment along with religious treatment at the same time, says Dr Shaltout.
“People suffering from psychological problems have always sought traditional treatments because they are more familiar with them. Sometimes families ask us to provide religious healing. We do not reject such an idea and recommend certain cases to the concerned departments,” he said.
Currently, only those authorised by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs can perform ‘ruqyah’, a form of spiritual healing that uses words and verses from the Holy Quran.
However, Dr Shaltout believes that both treatments should not contradict with each other.
If certain psychological problems such as schizophrenia, depression and mania are not resolved in due time, they can lead patients to self-harm and even suicide. Medical treatment is obviously necessary, says Dr Shaltout.
“If doctors and religious healers work together, we will get better results.”
In the end, the objective of both psychiatrists and religious healers is one, he says.
“There is a need for doctors and religious healers to work in collaboration with one another so that there is no contradiction in treatments.”
He called for a systematic study of religious healing and applying scientific approaches to these treatments in Qatar to develop a standard treatment for specific cases.
The Peninsula
