EMOTIONAL HEALING THROUGH SHAMANISTIC QUESTION-ASKING IN TAIWAN

This research examines how shamanistic practices promote emotional healing for the Taiwanese community. A shaman is a messenger that delivers messages between the spiritual and human worlds (Lee et al., 2010). Mental health stigmatization is prevalent in Asia (Lauber & Rössler, 2007), which hinders emotional support-seeking in Taiwan. Folk religions, such as shamanism, bring calmness to the Taiwanese community (cf. Wu & Liu, 2014). The question-asking procedure is culturally accepted and regularly practiced in Taiwan. Phenomenological semi-structured interviews were conducted to capture participants’ experiences with traditional healing through shamanistic practices. Using a linguistic ecology protocol, we discovered that shamans strengthen hope, encourage autonomy in decision-making, and provide insights into participants’ future outlooks. This study investigates shamanistic practices in support of collaboration and complementarity between counsellors and shamans (Moodley et al., 2008). It seeks to illuminate a broader understanding of spiritual coping in Taiwan and internationally in relation to Canadian practices.