Mental Health in Latin America: A New Social Question?

Latin American countries have faced accelerated processes of modernisation, demographic and epidemiological transitions. In this context, the high prevalence of mental health problems in some countries raises the question of whether Latin American countries are dealing with a “new social question” related to new dynamic of organisation in labour markets and the social support system, the transformation of social structure, the implementation of new economic models, and the subjective effects of poverty and inequalities in everyday life.

The aim of this regular session is to study the boundaries between social suffering and mental health in Latin-American countries from a historical, sociocultural and political perspective. Four or five presentations (20-minutes presentation) will be selected around the following themes:

(1) Poverty, inequality, vulnerability and mental health in Latin America.

(2) Social policies, health systems and mental health in Latin America.

(3) Social dynamics and mental health: migration, social conflict,

(4) Social Sciences perspectives and mental health in Latin America (historical, ethnographic and epidemiological approaches to suffering and mental disorders).

The session is expected to represent at least 3 different Latin American countries.