Sources of Gain in African Grief Therapy (AGT)

In an earlier presentation, the concept of African Grief Therapy (AGT) was formulated and explained by the author to an audience of the World Council for Psychotherapy which met in Kampala, Uganda, from 23-29 November, 1997. The present paper is intended to respond to two crucial questions emerging from but which were not fully clarified in that earlier presentation. The two questions are: What accounts for the committed, elaborate and voluntary input of local participation in such an indigenous psychological healing model? And what, why and how does African Grief Therapy (AGT) heal? The aim is to give a more precise theoretical explanation for the healing that is effected in African Grief Therapy.