Several cases are presented to demonstrate persisting belief in witchcraft and the continuing appeal of native healing practices among the educated as well as other strata of the population. These beliefs provide a source of security and stand-by ways of dealing with illness and offering support for the patient and family; at the same time, they often interfere with the willingness of the patient or his family to permit or comply with prescribed psychiatric treatment by a physician. The psychiatrist, in order to be successful, must simultaneously cope with and understand the utility of these beliefs as he attemps to treat his patient's illness.