IJERPH, Vol. 20, Pages 6931: Reconciling a Broken Heritage: Developing Mental Health Social Work in Guyana

IJERPH, Vol. 20, Pages 6931: Reconciling a Broken Heritage: Developing Mental Health Social Work in Guyana International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health doi: 10.3390/ijerph20206931 Authors: Coya Halley Stephen Cowden Guyana’s colonial past has left a trail of economic instability, racial polarization, and physical and mental trauma. Despite the progress made since Guyana’s independence in 1966, the remnants of this colonial past continue to shape present-day Guyana. As a result, violence and trauma continue to impact the mental health of the population. This is manifest in endemic problems of domestic violence and racialized social divisions which have created the conditions for rates of suicide which are amongst the highest in the world. The formal mental health provision which exists in Guyana is based primarily on an individualized and largely biomedical model of care. Despite valuable attempts to develop this provision, the difficulty of physically accessing this for some people and the stigma which surround this means that the capacity of this system to address the serious problems which exist is limited. It is also the case that in times of emotional and psychic distress, and in the context of Guyana being a very religious country, many people turn to traditional supernatural healers and remedies for support. In this paper, we discuss what is known as “Obeah”, noting that while this is...
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Essay Source Type: research