1st Edition

Latina/o Healing Practices Mestizo and Indigenous Perspectives

Edited By Brian McNeill, Jose M. Cervantes Copyright 2008
    360 Pages
    by Routledge

    360 Pages
    by Routledge

    This edited volume focuses on the role of traditional or indigenous healers, as well as the application of traditional healing practices in contemporary counseling and therapeutic modalities with Latina/o people. The book offers a broad coverage of important topics, such as traditional healer’s views of mental/psychological health and well-being, the use of traditional healing techniques in contemporary psychotherapy, and herbal remedies in psychiatric practice. It also discusses common factors across traditional healing methods and contemporary psychotherapies, the importance of spirituality in counseling and everyday life, the application of indigenous healing practices with Latina/o undergraduates, indigenous techniques in working with perpetrators of domestic violence, and religious healing systems and biomedical models. The book is an important reference for anyone working within the general field of mental health practice and those seeking to understand culturally relevant practice with Latina/o populations.

    Contributors. Garcia-Teague, An Appreciation of Dr. Michael Smith (1960-2006). McNeill, Cervantes, Introduction – Counselors and Curandera/os:  Parallels in the Healing Process. Part I:  Mestizo and Indigenous Perspectives. Cervantes, What Is Indigenous About Being Indigenous:  The Mestizo Experience. Ortiz, Davis, Latino/a Folk Saints and Marian Devotions: Popular Religiosity and Healing. McNeill, Esquivel, Carrasco, Mendoza, Santería and the Healing Process in Cuba and the United States. Part II: Indigenous and Mestizo Healing Practices. Smith, Ascani, Use of Psychotropic Herbal and Natural Medicines in Latino and Mestizo Populations. Nuñez, Brazil’s Ultimate Healing Resource: The Power of Spirit. Holliday, La Limpia de San Lazaro as Individual and Collective Cleansing Rite. Castellanos, Gloria, Rese un Ave María y ensendi una velita: The Use of Spirituality and Religion as a Means of Coping With Educational Experiences for Latina/o College Students. Part III:  Contemporary Aspects of Mestizo and Indigenous Healing Practices:  Reclamation and Integration. Medina, Los Espiritus Siguen Hablando: Chicana Spiritualities. Holliday, Religious Healing and Biomedicine in Comparative Context. Ortiz, Rice, McNeill, Curanderismo: Religious and Spiritual Worldviews and Indigenous Healing Traditions. Cervantes, McNeill, Epilogue:  Summary and Future Research and Practice Agendas.

    Biography

    Brian McNeill, Ph.D., is a professor and director of training for the Counseling Psychology Program at Washington State University.  He is the co-editor of The Handbook of Chicana and Chicano Psychology and Mental Health, and is a licensed Psychologist in the states of Washington and Idaho where he practices and consults. 

    Joseph M. Cervantes, Ph.D., ABPP, is a professor in the Department of Counseling at California State University, Fullerton, and maintains an independent practice in child, adolescent, and family psychology.  He serves as the ethics chair for the Orange County Psychological Association, and is a board member for the Sexual Misconduct Oversight and Review Board, Diocese of Orange, Office of the Bishop.

    "Concretely, this book pioneers indigenous Latina/o healing....These new meanings of healing and health, as described in the volume, can revolutionize our understanding of psychotherapy. [L]atina/o Healing Practices: Mestizo and Indigenous Perspectives offers an indispensable if not immense assistance."

    -Ruth Chu-lien Chao in PsycCRITIQUES, April 8, 2009, Vol. 54, Release 14, Article 5