Exploring Ayurvedic Practitioners’ Understanding of Psychosomatic Disorders and its Treatment

Abstract

Ayurveda being a system of Alternative Medicine which gives high relevance to the interplay of body and mind has been identified to be very relevant in studying psychosomatic disorders. This study explores Ayurveda as a scientific system of health for understanding and treating psychosomatic disorders. Ayurvedic practitioners’ knowledge and understanding of psychosomatic disorders and the strategies used to treat psychosomatic disorders were the two broad categories of focus. Semi-structured one-on-one telephone interviews were conducted with six Ayurvedic practitioners. The model of Thematic analysis of Braun and Clerke was used to analyze the data. The results demonstrate that the practitioners have a solid understanding of the concept and are knowledgeable on how to approach it based on the theoretical underpinnings of the ancient system. The system has its own very established conceptualisation of the mind, its roles and its interference with physical health. The research also identified concepts and terms parallel to psychosomatic disorders from Ayurveda. Finally, the various Ayurvedic modalities used for treating psychosomatic conditions were explored. The study has identified the potential of the ancient system in formulating a plausible theoretical framework to study and treat psychosomatic conditions.