Possible contributions of a psychology of liberation: whither health and human rights?

This article explores the possible contributions of a psychology of liberation for the practice of health psychology. It explores alternative psychological 'practices', for example participatory action research, with groups historically marginalized from access to power and resources. Selected lenses for crafting a liberatory psychology include: discourse of human rights and mental health; cultural and constructivist psychological theory; and reflexivity. Specific examples from the author's work with Mayan women in rural Guatemala in the context of ongoing war and subsequent efforts at peace building are discussed to clarify possible contributions of psychologists committed to accompanying local communities in creating more just futures. Selected challenges and contradictions encountered in this work are discussed.

Ethnic conflict and the psychology of liberation in Guatemala, Peru, and Puerto Rico.

Ethnic identity and conflict in Guatemala, Peru, and Puerto Rico are complexly embedded within dynamic systems of class- and race-based geopolitics. Whereas overt violence and terror have permeated both Guatemalan and Peruvian societies, overt conflict has undermined Puerto Rican nationhood. Despite similarities among these 3 countries of Hispano-America, there are important particularities that inform psychological theory and practice. This article explores selected contributions of a psychology of liberation informed by indigenous psychologies and reflexive praxis. The challenges these conflicts and their consequences pose to psychologists seeking to work with populations most deeply affected by these social inequalities are analyzed. It concludes with suggestions of how psychology can move toward the development of community-based responses to psychosocial oppression that foster enhanced individual and collective development in a context of social change.

Terror, silencing and children: international, multidisciplinary collaboration with Guatemalan Maya communities.

In recent years psychologists and other mental health workers have begun to document the effects of state-sponsored violence and civil war on civilians and to develop specific clinical and community interventions to address these issues. During the past decade between 50,000 to 100,000 Guatemalans have been murdered and at least 38,000 people disappeared. Over 400 rural villages were destroyed and the Guatemalan army's scorched earth policy forced hundreds of thousands who survived to flee, either to another part of the country or to leave Guatemala altogether. State-sponsored terror and silencing persists in Guatemala despite a return to civilian government. This article describes some of the problems encountered by Maya children in situations of ongoing war and state-sponsored terror and the development of one specific response, Creative Workshops for Children, an international, interdisciplinary program organized by mental health workers from Argentina, Guatemala and United States. The inadequacies of psychological theory based on a medical model that sees trauma as an intrapsychic phenomenon and conceptualizes its effects in situations of war as post-traumatic stress are described and a reconceptualization of trauma as psychosocial is proposed. The accompanying need to address the "normal abnormality" of war and state-sponsored terror through a community-based group process is presented. The model incorporates drawing, story telling, collage and dramatization in a group process that seeks to create a space and time in which the child can express him or herself, communicate experiences to others, and discharge energy and emotion connected to previous traumatic experiences. The work draws on existing cultural traditions (e.g. oral story telling and dramatization) and resources (e.g. nature, plants) of indigenous communities, offering additional resources to those seeking to collaborate in the development of mental health in their communities and suggesting alternative bases from which to understand the cultural and social psychological effects of war. Through participation in the creative workshop the child survivor enhances natural means for communication that will facilitate the expression of physical and mental tensions and the development of a capacity to construct an identity that is not exclusively subject to the dehumanizing and traumatizing reality of war. The strengths of this work and the limits of psychoassistance work within a context of war are enumerated and discussed.

Human rights and mental health among Latin American women in situations of state-sponsored violence. Bibliographic resources.

PIP: The Task Force of the American Psychological Association Division 35, Psychology of Women, conducted a literature review of resources from Latin America to examine the social dimensions of state-sponsored violence in Latin America, their effects on socialization and community, and some responses of women surviving these experiences. It limited its review to works of women's groups, progressive organizations, and individual women exploring the effects of war and state-sponsored violence on women's mental health. Recurring emergent themes included the false dichotomy of violence committed against women in public versus that committed in private, silencing of women accompanies state imposed terror, collective resistance to such terror. The resources addressed 3 types of women's experiences of violence: exile within and beyond one's national borders; torture--an extreme form of state-sponsored violence; and nontraditional, culturally appropriate interventions--alternatives to Western models. This review motivated the Task Force to call on their colleagues to contribute to the on-going documentation of state-sponsored violence. Task Force members identified several areas for collaborative research and/or theory development. Psychologists should question the validity of clinical neutrality and examine the particular meanings of non-neutrality within different cultures. For example, some Latin American psychologists reject diagnoses of intrapsychic syndromes (e.g., post-traumatic stress syndrome) and propose concepts that center on the nexus of individuals and social life. The Task Force sees great opportunities for US psychologists to network and to form solidarity-based relationships with Latin American women. It has identified many women's groups working in Latin America. Human rights organizations (e.g., Americas Watch) have formed women's projects. Further work should be done to improve resource exchanges.^ieng

Guatemalan Indian children and the sociocultural effects of government-sponsored terrorism.

The effects of government-sponsored terrorism, characteristic of the contemporary Central American civil wars, are particularly devastating to children. In Guatemala, the Mayan population felt the worst of a systematic and brutal counterinsurgency, where over 400 rural villages were destroyed between 1981 and 1983. This research is intended to elucidate selected characteristics of the psychosocial trauma of civil war as experienced by Guatemalan Mayan children, to describe some of the sociocultural effects of civil war on the children's Mayan ethnic identity and to identify those factors that helped them to survive severe trauma and loss. Specifically, during the summer of 1988, 32 children in Guatemala and 36 exiled in Mexico, between the ages of 8 and 16, participated in research designed to compare the negative effects of civil war and the adaptive capabilities of children who have experienced the trauma of the loss of immediate family members, the witnessing of violent crimes and the displacement from their homes. In addition to a semi-structure, open-ended interview and taped personal story/testimonies, several traditional psychological instruments were used to facilitate our understanding of the overall well-being of these children who have been affected by systematic violence. The long-term effects of this trauma cannot be fully anticipated, but the results suggest that these children suffer an abiding fear and face many uncertainties. The children in the orphanages in Guatemala have few expectations for the future and those in refugee camps in Mexico see a bleak future with few opportunities besides survival. The training and preparation of community mental health workers is a realistic possibility with positive effects for the psychic health of the children.