Psychiatric hospitals in Indonesia

Andrea Star Reese, a well-known documentary photographer from New York, has lived in Indonesia for almost a year, where she photographed a lot in shelters, schools and hospitals. According to her, many of the patients she met in local psychiatric hospitals did not have any mental disorders and they were not given accurate diagnoses. Various data published by the Government indicate that approximately 600-800 psychiatrists are currently practicing in Indonesia, half of them are based on the island of Java, and half in Jakarta. Some still use only one diagnosis and one prescription.

Local and regional officials in Indonesia recognize the importance of existing private and licensed shelters, although they are aware of serious shortcomings in the health system. Shamans and traditional healers continue to be a popular choice for mental health care across the country. It is better and cheaper for Indonesians to be deluded and believe that spells and magic potions will save their health.

Evi has been living in the hospital for more than two years. She was fifteen when she first started experiencing hallucinations. Her family pays for accommodation.

This center is located on the outskirts of Jakarta. The medical complex is a licensed government facility in Indonesia. Everyone is accepted here, even the poorest patients who cannot pay for accommodation. The center receives enough rice, noodles and vegetable oil for two months from local authorities. Treatment and provision of medicines are not provided here.

Agus, Liana and Yarmoko live in cages in the center of alternative medicine. Yasono, the owner of the center, learned about an unusual way of healing in Since then, he has been spraying water on men and women and giving them a special herbal drink, being sure that it will help them heal.

The Martial Arts College also provides assistance to the mentally ill. Today there are about 200 students in this institution who suffer from mental disorders. Martial arts training and herbal medicines are central to the treatment.

Four years ago, when Alice was 24, her family took her to Al-Salafiyah Bahjur, an Islamic boarding school in Madura, East Java. In this center, people are completely isolated and locked in small rooms, they do not have any furniture and clothes. Last year, this girl's parents died, and now she is completely dependent on the owners of the school.

Former patients of the center are being helped here.

In this center, small rooms were built only for management and staff. Many men and women remain in a large cage in a closed pavilion under a leaky roof without access to any conditions.

Meta was taken to Galuh with mental disorders, the case was complicated by the fact that she used drugs. For eight years Meta has been living without her own house or room in one big cage with other women.

Maftukhah suffers from depression. After her husband left her to marry another woman, her family brought the girl to the Yayasin Bin Lestari Center for assistance.

This is an unusual phenomenon, but this boy is being treated in an adult shelter.

The staff of the Bina Akhlaq Boarding School undergoes constant training and training to respond in emergency situations.

A young woman in a pink blouse is called Evi, she lives in the center of Yayasin Lestari Bina. Treatment is still not available here.

The Keris Nangtang Foundation was founded by activists, here they help mentally ill homeless, drug-addicted men and women. The center uses exceptional herbal infusions for treatment.

Nurhamed has been successfully treated for bipolar disorder, Saepudin says that a man can get better. For nine years he lived chained up in the back room of his parents' house. More recently, his village fell under the medical equipment program, and now the man receives medicines for treatment.

Pondok Pesantren Ahlaq is considered a boarding school, and here they require a fee for accommodation.

Gede was chained to a pole in a shed behind his mother's house in one of the remote areas of Bali.

Musrafa is the only manager and primary guardian in this village. The image shows a man washing a 25-year-old patient named Acroma.

25-year-old Didina is being treated at the Abah Sanuk Abah center, a folk healer is following him here. Shamans and healers are the most popular and affordable healers of mental disorders throughout Indonesia.

25-year-old Ikromudin Muhammad was trained to have special powers. He helps men and women in healing. The ritual lasts throughout the day and night. Participants pray, drink herbal drinks, this ultimately helps them enter a hypnotic trance. Subsequently, patients will be cleansed of their sins.