The woman who chose the terreiro. Lay care and medical landscapes in mental health care in Rio de Janeiro.
Anthropology & medicine December 1, 2022 Manuela R Müller, Francisco Ortega, Angel Martínez-Hernáez 13 citations
Mental health care in Brazil has undergone reforms that view mental health as a complex social process, yet cultural dimensions of suffering are often overlooked. This paper follows a patient in Rio de Janeiro who chose therapy based on her Afro-Brazilian religious beliefs—using ayahuasca in Umbanda—instead of standard mental health treatment. Using concepts of autoatención (self, domestic, and group care in lay contexts) and medical landscapes, the authors examine how therapeutic negotiations reflect embodied cultural traits and social and political determinants. They argue that recognizing sociocultural differences and therapeutic negotiations is key to more inclusive health practices, relevant both in Brazil and globally where local and global knowledge intersect.