Health Track Week 1

This week began with a small group of three Psychology and Human Development Students and Professor Lynne Bond. We started our class by discussing what "Community Mental Health" means in general, and then moving forward to discuss what it looks like in Oaxaca. We assessed what the needs and assets of Oaxaca might be in the area of mental health. What resources exist in mental health? How does Oaxacan culture foster or impede mental health development? In our next class, we began to discuss what is considered "normal" mental health in American culture and Oaxacan culture. By observing and naming the norms for health in a certain culture, we can start to form a better understanding of why certain health issues exist in certain places, and what is being done to prevent or treat them. Much of this week was spent in discussion about these themes, so that when we visited places that provide mental health support, we could have a more holistic view.

Our first excursion was to visit the Centro de Atencion y Formacion Humanista. This is a center that offers "alternative" mental health services to the community. There are a few characteristics that make this organization different than the current options that exist to treat mental health issues. They take a stance rooted in social medicine, which takes social identitiies such as socio-economic status into account when considering the issue of mental health. They believe that each person has a crisis at one point or another in their lives, and to label oneself with a mental illness can be stigmatizing. They seek to question the idea of "mental illness," and encourage their clients to question the social, culture, and political systems that influence how they look at their health. It was interesting to hear their take on mental health!

Our next excursion took us to the town of Zapata, a place mostly made up of immigrants from other areas of Mexico. There, a group of women called "Union de Mujeres trabajando por el progreso" formed from 12 women who were mostly working at home, and wanted to find a way to form a community among themselves. The group makes tinctures of herbs and plants which they use for health and healing. They come together multiple times a week to make tinctures, attend workshops, and keep their group in touch with one another. It was incredible to see a group of women who found a cause to unite themselves and form their own community. Many of them had felt isolated or estranged in the community, so this group offers much more than a trade, it offers emotional and social support. Also, we got to help make some tinctures, and learn a little about the process!  

To learn more about community mental health in Oaxaca, we met with a group called "Nueroticos anonimos," or Neurotics Anonymous. This is a group of people who identify themselves as "neurotic" and choose to meet in a similar format as Alcoholics Anonymous or other self-help groups. They told us their personal stories and shared a little bit about their philosophy. It was great that they felt comfortable enough to share their lives with us!

The week was incredibly rich with all different approaches to mental health in the Oaxaca community. We began to appreciate the diversity of the field of health, and began to assess what needs exist in the system. Overall, we were off to a great start with out journey through community mental health in Oaxaca.