ANTH 227 Lecture 3: ANTH Lecture 3
Document Summary
John janzen"s (1978) ethnography the quest for therapy: medical pluralism in lower zaire. The concept of therapy management group, as originally defined by janzen (1978) refers to a community of persons who take responsibility from the sufferer and enter into brokerage relationships with specialists. The therapy management group is comprised chiefly of the family members who piece together the picture of therapeutic process and decide the next step of action. The process of therapy management involves diagnosis and the negotiation of illness identities, the selection and evaluation of therapeutic options, and the lending of support to the afflicted (janzen 1978:7-8; 1987; 1992; see also nichter 2002:82). The role of therapy management groups is not only one of support and assistance for the afflicted but one of social control of the patient and ideological control of the values implicit in therapy and illness behavior.
