Introduction to Special Topic Section: Shamanism

Historically, orthodox science has tended to dismiss shamanism as psychopathological, charlatanism or trickery (Hubbard, 2003). It is noteworthy, however, that shamanism has remained an integral part of indigenous healing rituals since ancient times and is currently attracting increasing interest as a complementary therapeutic technique in the disciplines of psychology and medicine (Bittman et al., 2001).