Management of the mental health patient is a concept that has gradually evolved in many countries and cultures. Traditional mental health care is critical in providing support to societies and communities that would otherwise have no one to attend to the coexisting physical and mental illnesses. Over the past few years there have been moves to facilitate collaboration between traditional practitioners and Western practitioners. The collaboration has taken place in countries such as South Africa and India, where national health policies have been amended to try and recognize the role of traditional practitioners. The complexity of mental health systems in some countries may be increased by the parallel operation of traditional healers and Western-style practitioners. One of the main obstacles hindering collaboration between Western-style practitioners and traditional practitioners concerns human rights abuses that can occur in prayer camps and traditional shrines.