Indigenous Healing Practices and Developmental Recovery in Trauma-Exposed Children in Rural South East Nigeria

This study examines the role of indigenous healing practices in supporting developmental recovery among trauma-exposed children in rural communities in South East Nigeria, employing an ethnographic and mixed-methods design across four communities in Enugu, Imo, and Ebonyi states. The integration of traditional healing practices into child trauma recovery is a contested but practically significant area, as most trauma-exposed children in rural Nigeria access indigenous healers before or instead of formal psychological services. This research combined twelve months of community ethnography with in-depth interviews with 60 traditional healers, 90 caregivers, and 75 trauma-exposed children aged 8 to 16 years. A nested quantitative component assessed trauma symptoms using the Child Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory and recovery indicators over a six-month follow-up in children receiving indigenous healing versus no formal or traditional intervention. Thematic analysis and mixed-effects regression were integrated through a convergent synthesis approach. Results indicate that community-based ritual healing, narrative testimony practices, and elder-guided rites of reintegration were associated with significant reductions in post-traumatic stress and social withdrawal symptoms over six months. The theoretical contribution lies in proposing a Cultural Healing Ecology model that conceptualises indigenous practices as activating community belonging, meaning reconstruction, and somatic regulation, the same mechanisms targeted by evidence-based trauma therapies. The study recommends collaborative frameworks between developmental psychologists and traditional healing practitioners in rural South East Nigeria. Keywords: indigenous healing, trauma recovery, children, South East Nigeria, cultural healing ecology.