Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of psychology and mental health in Belize. First, a capsule description of Belize is provided, including cultural orientation regarding its racial and ethnic groups, population, urbanicity, and history, situating the nation as geographically located in Central America, but with strong cultural, economic, and political connections with the Caribbean. The religions and languages of Belize are also briefly described along with data and analysis regarding social issues, including crime, poverty, unemployment, gender equity, drug and sex trafficking, corporal punishment, and family violence. The history and status of behavioral health services in Belize are then described, including the origins, and present state of mental hospitals and psychiatric units. Special attention is given to workforce development issues, including a paucity of psychiatrists, doctoral-level psychologists, and master’s-level social workers in the nation. Belize’s success with psychiatric nurse practitioners is described in some detail. The need for more formal higher education programs in behavioral health in Belize is addressed, along with challenges regarding stigma for those with behavioral health issues despite work by advocacy groups. Considerable attention is devoted to the role of traditional healing practices in modern Belize, such as among the Maya and in rural areas, with discussion of culture-bound and culture-influenced conditions, and to the various types of traditional healers. Finally, the balance between tradition and modernity in Belize is discussed with respect to behavioral health.
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Rich, G.J., Gentle-Genitty, C., Estrada, C. (2022). Psychology in Belize. In: Rich, G.J., Ramkumar, N.A. (eds) Psychology in Oceania and the Caribbean. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87763-7_20
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