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Journey into healing: the transformative experience of shamanic healing on women with temporomandibular joint disorders.

Nancy H Vuckovic, Jennifer Schneider, Louise A Williams, Michelle Ramirez

Explore 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.explore.2010.08.005 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 20
Population Women aged 25-55 with temporomandibular joint disorders, naive to shamanic healing
Intervention shamanic healing
Duration Five visits with a shamanic practitioner; pretreatment and posttreatment interviews
Topics Shamanism
Citations 9
Key findings Participants reported three times as much text devoted to changes in self-awareness, coping, relationships, and self-care than to physical changes, indicating a transformative process.

Abstract

To evaluate participants' perceptions of illness, healing process, and experience of effects from shamanic treatment as reported from in-depth interviews. Consistent with a whole systems research model, qualitative methods were used to evaluate the outcomes and experiences of clinical trial participants. Quantitative results are reported elsewhere. Twenty participants completed five visits with a randomly assigned shamanic practitioner and completed pretreatment and posttreatment in-depth interviews conducted by trained, qualitative researchers. Some physical and psychological symptoms associated with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) may be indicative of the shamanic definition of soul loss. Because this was the first clinical trial of shamanic healing for TMD pain, a mixed-methods approach enabled researchers to capture a wide range of participants' experiences. Eligible volunteers were women aged between 25 to 55 years, naive to shamanic healing, with a confirmed diagnosis of TMD and a pain level of three or higher on the Research Diagnostic Criteria Axis II questionnaire. For consistency, interviewers followed a guide that allowed individual experiences to emerge. Interviews lasted about one hour, were recorded, and professionally transcribed. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION: Following standard qualitative analysis procedures, researchers developed and applied thematic codes to transcribed text of interviews. Coded text was reviewed to generate summaries of thematic content. Although participants described physical changes, three times as much text was devoted to changes in self-awareness, capacity for coping, improvement in relationships, and taking better care of themselves. Their experience describes a process of transformation.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on shamanism, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
"Plantas con madre": plants that teach and guide in the shamanic initiation process in the East-Central Peruvian Amazon. Curanderos, apprentices, and herbalists in East-Central Peru, including Mestizo,... 2011 Qualitative study n = 36
Purging and the body in the therapeutic use of ayahuasca Healers and participants in shamanic tourism contexts of the Peruvian Amazon and... 2019 Ethnography with literature review n = 227
The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism Western tourists and indigenous peoples in Iquitos, Peru 2016 Ethnography
Shamanism and Rock Art in Far Western North America Historic hunter-gatherer cultures of California and the Great Basin 1992 Ethnographic review and analysis
Working with “La Medicina”: Elements of Healing in Contemporary Ayahuasca Rituals Ayahuasqueros and Western participants in shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru 2012 Ethnography

Citations in the library

Cited by 7

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Cites 5

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Explore topics

Shamanism