Latin American and Spanish-speaking perspectives on the challenges of global psychiatry

The multi-faceted phenomenon known as globalization has a particular impact on the conceptual and practical development of mental health disciplines in general, and psychiatry in particular, across different world regions. To be theoretically and functionally effective, global psychiatry requires an integration of its different components. To such objective, and after a brief review of continental European and Anglo-Saxon contributions, this article examines the history, characteristics, and contributions of Latin/Iberian American and Spanish-speaking psychiatry, in order to substantiate its role in world psychiatry. The Latin American proper (including Portuguese-speaking Brazil), Spain, and U.S.-based Hispanic components are described, revealing an identity that is based on a humanistic tradition, a value-based, culturally-determined clinical approach to patient care, and a pragmatic adaptation of different treatment resources and techniques. These may constitute supportive elements of an instrumental inter-regional bond in the present and future of our discipline.

El precio de la ausencia: La Psiquiatría Latinoamericana en el mundo / The price of absence: Latin-American Psychiatry in the world

El fenómeno de la globalización, impulsado por migraciones masivas y avances tecnológicos cada vez más complejos, plantea desafíos a la identidad individual y colectiva, a la fisonomía cultural de regiones y continentes y a sus expresiones científicas, entre ellas la medicina y la psiquiatría. Tras describir brevemente las rutas históricas de la psiquiatría latinoamericana, el artículo examina el trabajo de algunas de sus más destacadas figuras y sus contribuciones en campos como psiquiatría social, psicoanálisis, neurobiología, psicopatología y otros. El enfoque central en torno a la visibilidad y aceptación de contribuciones latinoamericanas en el escenario mundial se basa en cifras de Factor de Impacto de publicaciones especializadas, reconocimiento y participación de psiquiatras latinoamericanos en eventos e instituciones internacionales, colaboración en proyectos de investigación, etc. Se concluye que tal visibilidad es modesta y se examinan las razones de la misma y las reacciones de la comunidad psiquiátrica latinoamericana ante tal realidad. Finalmente, se formulan sugerencias y planteamientos de manejo de esta situación para una reafirmación del valor y calidad de aquellas contribuciones en los campos académico, clínico y heurístico.

Globalization, a phenomenon nourished by massive migrations and increasingly complex technological advances, creates challenges to individual and collective identities, to the cultural texture of world regions and continents, and to their scientific expressions, among them medicine and psychiatry. After briefly describing the historical routes of Latin-American psychiatry, this article examines the work of some of its most distinguished figures and their contributions in areas such as social psychiatry, psychoanalysis, neurobiology and others. A focus on the visibility and acceptance of Latin-American contributions to the world psychiatry scene is based on the study of Impact Factor figures of publications, recognition and participation of Latin-American psychiatrists in international organizations and events, collaborative participation in research projects, etc. It is concluded that such visibility is modest, reasons for this and the reactions of the Latin-American psychiatric community in the face of it are examined. Finally, suggestions and management strategies aimed at reaffirming the value and quality of such contributions in the academic, heuristic and clinical fields, are formulated.

Contexto histórico y cultural en el estudio de la enfermedad mental: perspectivas latinoamericanas / Historical and cultural context in the study of mental disorders: latin american perspectives

La historia de la psiquiatría latinoamericana incorpora realidades culturales y epistemológicas que, en buena medida, han contribuido a la forja de una identidad de nuestra disciplina, aun sujeta sin embargo, al influjo de factores diversos, más aún en esta etapa de globalización y gigantescos cambios tecnológicos. El artículo examina las características del entorno latinoamericano y expone una secuencia histórica en la conceptualización de enfermedad mental, su diagnóstico y manejo desde la era precolombina hasta los albores del presente siglo. Se analizan y discuten las características distintivas de la identidad actual de la psiquiatría latinoamericana, los factores en juego para su búsqueda y su enunciado pleno, proceso complejo al que sin embargo debe aspirarse con tenacidad, objetividad y realismo.

The history of Latin American psychiatry incorporates cultural and epistemological realities that, in a good measure, have contributed to the formation of an identity still subjected, however, to the influence of different factors, even more so in this period of globalization and overwhelming technological changes. This article examines the unique characteristics of the Latin American continent and presents a historical sequence in the conceptualization of mental illness, its diagnosis and management from Pre-Columbian times to the dawn of the current Century. Distinctive characteristics of the current identity of Latin American psychiatry, and factors at play in its search and total understanding, are discussed. This is a complex process to which, however, is important to aspire with tenacity, objectivity and realism.