History, violence and collective memory: Implications for mental health in Ecuador

Abstract

National histories of violence shape experiences of suffering and the ways that mental health professionals respond to them. In Ecuador, mental health literature addressing this crucial issue is scarce and little debated. In contrast, local psychiatrists and psychologists within the country face contemporary challenges that are deeply rooted in a violent colonial past and the perpetuation of its fundamental ethos. This paper critically reviews relevant literature on collective memory and historical trauma, and focuses on Ecuador as a case study on how to incorporate history into modern mental health challenges. The discussion poses key questions and outlines possible ways for Ecuador to address the link between history and mental health, including insights from countries that have struggled with their violent pasts. This paper contributes to ongoing international debate on the role of cultural history in mental health with implications for social scientists and practising clinicians in former colonised nations.

Test-retest reliability of four cognitive tasks in a not so WEIRD sample

“…In this sense, they only represent the Ecuadorian population that have had access to higher education, making them share some commonalities with samples from studies using WEIRD populations. Nevertheless, this population shares cultural features that are distinct from the typical WEIRD population (Capella et al, 2019), providing a valuable source of information on the effects of such cultural variables on cognitive performance.…”

“…In comparison, the income per capita in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2017 was $54,941 and$39.116, respectively (United Nations Development Programme, 2018). For a more in-depth analysis of the social and cultural aspects of the Ecuadorian population, see Capella, Jadhav, and Moncrieff (2019).…”

Global Mental Health: Interdisciplinary challenges for a field in motion

“…This special issue of Transcultural Psychiatry provides a snapshot of current interdisciplinary work that reflects the complexity and ongoing evolution of GMH. The authors reflect on the histories and colonial legacies of violence inscribed in mental suffering and programming (Capella, Jadhav, & Moncrieff, 2020;Hickling, 2020;Ortega & Wenceslau, 2020), on current models of culturally responsive intervention and implementation (Bustamante Ugarte et al, 2020;Hatcher et al, 2020;Honikman, Field, & Cooper, 2020;Mascayano et al, 2020;Shehadeh et al, 2020;Verhey et al, 2020) and on the challenges to mental well-being from the impending conditions of catastrophic climate change (White, 2020). Another set of contributions challenge established narratives on psychological suffering and trauma after war (Medeiros, Nanicha Shrestha, Gaire, & Orr, 2020), natural disaster (Newnham et al, 2020), and cultural practices of female genital cutting (Omigbodun, 2020).…”

“…Similarly, in this issue, a critical literature review by Capella and colleagues (2020) considers how formerly colonised nations can engage their own histories of violence in the mental health arena. Using Ecuador as a case study, they poignantly ask: “What is the place of history in the analysis of, and interventions around, violence addressed by mental health professionals?” (p. 32).…”

How coloniality shapes the making of Latin American psychologists: ethnographic evidence from Ecuador

“…Suffering in Ecuador is shaped by its troubled past and its contemporary reality (Capella, Jadhav, & Moncrieff, 2019;Cruza-Guet, Spokane, Leon-Andrade, & Borja, 2009). Most people (71.9%) categorise as mestizos ("mixed race"), 7.4% montubios (rural coastal people), 7.2% African-Ecuadorians, 7% indigenous and 6.1% white.…”