Whereas in certain cultures a Shaman, rituals, or even words are used as medicine for the mind. (Walsh 1994, Peters 1982, Conner et al. 1966, Turner 1968, and Tambiah 1968.) Both forms of healing appear to work in their separate cultures, but when the boundary of culture are crossed the methods are looked down upon as wrong or unconventional. .
According to Peters "culture can either be a hindrance or a support"(1982:24) to the medical model used in the region. The shaman is a prime example of a culturally segregated form of healing. Walsh states that "Shamanism may be humankinds earliest and longest-lasting healing psychotherapeutic and religious tradition" (1994:7). He goes on to explain that archaeological evidence has shown that there is cases of shamanism used in religion for thousands of years (1994:7-8). But when viewed from a Western perspective a shaman is considered a "psychologically disturbed mentally deranged [and] an outright psychotic" individual (1994:8). However, just like a Western doctor, the shaman must go through several stages of initiation, much like a medical school for the mind, which can take several years. Throughout the course of the shamans journey, there is always a Western view of explaining the actions of a shaman. .
In order to understand the path a shaman follows it is necessary to explain what exactly a shaman is. According to Walsh Shamanism is "a family of traditions whose practitioners focus on voluntarily entering altered states of consciousness in which they experience themselves or their sprits travelling to other realms at will and interacting with other entities to serve their community" (1994:9). Since these cultures typically believe that sickness is caused by evil spirit, the journey of a shaman usually has him or her encounter the problem spirit and either drive it away, or tell the sick individual what is needed to rid him or her of the spirit.
