Objectives: The survey was designed to identify which pathways psychiatric patient go through in seeking psychiatric services, how often they visit general physicians, other specialists, health care centers, and traditional healers, whether they use herbal medicine, and how they refer to Imam Hussein General Hospital Psychiatric Training Center. Method: 256 Patients (109 female and 146 male) who refered to the center were studied by administering a 23 items questionnaire. They were selected through random sampling. Their average age was 28.9±14.2 years. 41% were married and 55.5% were single. The findings were analyzed through chi², Findings: The results demonstrated that, as the first step in seeking treatment, 84.3% of subjects visited physicians and medical centers, 14.5% turned to traditional healers and alternative treatments. 42.5% of all cases had turned to sorcerers. 65.7% had been refered to the center by relatives and friends. The average time interval between appearance of the first symptoms and first visiting the physician/healer was 2.2±4.08 years and the average time interval between appearance of the first symptoms and referring to psychiatrists or psychiatric centers was 3.6±5.39 years. Findings: The results demonstrated that traditional healers still play an important role in attracting patients, and that 14

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