Abstract
Religious and spiritual practices have been identified as a main source of mental health support for Latinxs to improve overall health and well-being. This qualitative secondary data analysis sought to elucidate how Mexican patients and family members engaged in religious and spiritual practices to help alleviate patients’ experiences of mental illness. Three main findings are discussed: (1) positive religious coping such as entrusting God with one’s suffering, consejos (i.e., emotional support and advice giving), and positive social supports through religious communities; (2) negative religious coping such as harmful views of God as punishing; and (3) indigenous healing practices such as engagement with curanderos (medicine doctor) and limpias (i.e., herb-based cleanses). The authors discuss these findings in the context of tensions between culturally sanctioned healing and the perception of psychotherapeutic effectiveness reported by Mexican patients and their family members. The authors also provide future directions for incorporating patients’ religious and spiritual practices into multiculturally competent treatment.
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Notes
For a general review on the effects of religion on health and an integrating conceptual framework, see Krause (2011).
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the collaboration of Dr. Kristin Yarris, Dr. Stephen López, Isabel Iturrios, and Diego Guevara as part of the Latino Mental Health Research Training Program (MHIRT) Team. Thanks to the Mexico Research Team who helped transcribe interviews and with data analysis (Verónica Franco, Gabriella Gaus, Karen Godinez, Cung King, Mónica Madrigal, Natalie Mena, Anais Picarelli, and Suzie Sainvilmar). Additional thanks to Dr. Stephen Quintana who provided feedback throughout this study.
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This research received financial support through the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) Graduate Student Summer Fieldwork Award.
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Stege, A.M.R., Godinez, J. Trusting in God: Religious and Spiritual Support in Mental Health Treatment Expectations in Mexico. J Relig Health 61, 3655–3676 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01554-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01554-0