Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma

Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga; Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo; Sébastien Yougbaré

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

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Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma

Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga^*

, Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo

, Sébastien Yougbaré

Published in Social Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 1)

Received: 22 January 2025 Accepted: 11 February 2025 Published: 27 February 2025

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Abstract

Due to their profession's specificity, police officers are exposed to critical events that may lead to post-traumatic pathologies. Exposure is particularly increased in countries with high security challenges such as Burkina Faso which faces terrorism against which police officers are on the front line. Many police officers in Burkina Faso experience post-traumatic stress disorders such as Acute Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as co-morbidities such as addiction, depression and anxiety. To deal with these post-traumatic pathologies, conventional psychotherapeutic approaches may be used either upstream to prevent symptoms occurrence, or downstream to treat them. Meanwhile, some police officers may use traditional therapies involving syncretic beliefs. This study aims to highlight clinical cases in which police officers use traditional therapies, by questionning their therapeutic effectiveness as well as the related implications. The data used were taken from clinical reports of police patients that received psychological care. The clinical cases were selected based on their relevance to illustrate traditional therapies used by police officers in post-traumatic pathologies treatment.

Published in	Social Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16
Page(s)	53-59
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Police Officers, Psychotrauma, Syncretic Therapies, Burkina Faso

References

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APA Style

Soubeiga, P. H. J., Ouedraogo, A. N., Yougbaré, S. (2025). Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma. Social Sciences, 14(1), 53-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

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ACS Style

Soubeiga, P. H. J.; Ouedraogo, A. N.; Yougbaré, S. Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma. Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(1), 53-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

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AMA Style

Soubeiga PHJ, Ouedraogo AN, Yougbaré S. Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma. Soc Sci. 2025;14(1):53-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

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@article{10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16,
  author = {Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga and Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo and Sébastien Yougbaré},
  title = {Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma
},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {1},
  pages = {53-59},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20251401.16},
  abstract = {Due to their profession's specificity, police officers are exposed to critical events that may lead to post-traumatic pathologies. Exposure is particularly increased in countries with high security challenges such as Burkina Faso which faces terrorism against which police officers are on the front line. Many police officers in Burkina Faso experience post-traumatic stress disorders such as Acute Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as co-morbidities such as addiction, depression and anxiety. To deal with these post-traumatic pathologies, conventional psychotherapeutic approaches may be used either upstream to prevent symptoms occurrence, or downstream to treat them. Meanwhile, some police officers may use traditional therapies involving syncretic beliefs. This study aims to highlight clinical cases in which police officers use traditional therapies, by questionning their therapeutic effectiveness as well as the related implications. The data used were taken from clinical reports of police patients that received psychological care. The clinical cases were selected based on their relevance to illustrate traditional therapies used by police officers in post-traumatic pathologies treatment.
},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma

AU  - Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga
AU  - Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo
AU  - Sébastien Yougbaré
Y1  - 2025/02/27
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
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AB  - Due to their profession's specificity, police officers are exposed to critical events that may lead to post-traumatic pathologies. Exposure is particularly increased in countries with high security challenges such as Burkina Faso which faces terrorism against which police officers are on the front line. Many police officers in Burkina Faso experience post-traumatic stress disorders such as Acute Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as co-morbidities such as addiction, depression and anxiety. To deal with these post-traumatic pathologies, conventional psychotherapeutic approaches may be used either upstream to prevent symptoms occurrence, or downstream to treat them. Meanwhile, some police officers may use traditional therapies involving syncretic beliefs. This study aims to highlight clinical cases in which police officers use traditional therapies, by questionning their therapeutic effectiveness as well as the related implications. The data used were taken from clinical reports of police patients that received psychological care. The clinical cases were selected based on their relevance to illustrate traditional therapies used by police officers in post-traumatic pathologies treatment.

VL  - 14
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga

Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, General Directorate of the National Police, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4861-8304
Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo

Anthropology, Yembila Abdoulaye Togueyeni University, Fada N’Gourma, Burkina Faso

http://orcid.org/0009-0008-5927-3384
Sébastien Yougbaré

Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, Joseph Ki Zerbo University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

http://orcid.org/0009-0000-4740-7631

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APA Style

Soubeiga, P. H. J., Ouedraogo, A. N., Yougbaré, S. (2025). Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma. Social Sciences, 14(1), 53-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

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ACS Style

Soubeiga, P. H. J.; Ouedraogo, A. N.; Yougbaré, S. Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma. Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(1), 53-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

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AMA Style

Soubeiga PHJ, Ouedraogo AN, Yougbaré S. Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma. Soc Sci. 2025;14(1):53-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16,
  author = {Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga and Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo and Sébastien Yougbaré},
  title = {Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma
},
  journal = {Social Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {1},
  pages = {53-59},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ss.20251401.16},
  abstract = {Due to their profession's specificity, police officers are exposed to critical events that may lead to post-traumatic pathologies. Exposure is particularly increased in countries with high security challenges such as Burkina Faso which faces terrorism against which police officers are on the front line. Many police officers in Burkina Faso experience post-traumatic stress disorders such as Acute Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as co-morbidities such as addiction, depression and anxiety. To deal with these post-traumatic pathologies, conventional psychotherapeutic approaches may be used either upstream to prevent symptoms occurrence, or downstream to treat them. Meanwhile, some police officers may use traditional therapies involving syncretic beliefs. This study aims to highlight clinical cases in which police officers use traditional therapies, by questionning their therapeutic effectiveness as well as the related implications. The data used were taken from clinical reports of police patients that received psychological care. The clinical cases were selected based on their relevance to illustrate traditional therapies used by police officers in post-traumatic pathologies treatment.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Between Syncretic Beliefs and Therapeutic Effectiveness: Clinical Case Studies of the Use of Traditional Therapies by Police Officers in the Treatment of Psychotrauma

AU  - Pinguédwindé Henri Joël Soubeiga
AU  - Aïcha Nadège Ouedraogo
AU  - Sébastien Yougbaré
Y1  - 2025/02/27
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16
DO  - 10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16
T2  - Social Sciences
JF  - Social Sciences
JO  - Social Sciences
SP  - 53
EP  - 59
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-988X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ss.20251401.16
AB  - Due to their profession's specificity, police officers are exposed to critical events that may lead to post-traumatic pathologies. Exposure is particularly increased in countries with high security challenges such as Burkina Faso which faces terrorism against which police officers are on the front line. Many police officers in Burkina Faso experience post-traumatic stress disorders such as Acute Stress Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as well as co-morbidities such as addiction, depression and anxiety. To deal with these post-traumatic pathologies, conventional psychotherapeutic approaches may be used either upstream to prevent symptoms occurrence, or downstream to treat them. Meanwhile, some police officers may use traditional therapies involving syncretic beliefs. This study aims to highlight clinical cases in which police officers use traditional therapies, by questionning their therapeutic effectiveness as well as the related implications. The data used were taken from clinical reports of police patients that received psychological care. The clinical cases were selected based on their relevance to illustrate traditional therapies used by police officers in post-traumatic pathologies treatment.

VL  - 14
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download