Familismo as Structural Oppression Toward Sexual and Gender Minoritized Latines: The Role of Betrayal and Double-Consciousness in Dissociating for the Familia

Mental health practitioners assess and treat trauma and dissociation by considering the biopsychosocial factors influencing the symptomatology of clients. In this process, clinicians often default to a prescriptive model that inherently assigns generalized cultural values to certain marginalized groups. Particularly for Latines, clinicians may overaccentuate the cultural value of familismo, the centering of family, for all Latine clients. These cultural values often translate into clinicians’ expectations that their Latine clients will cherish their familial relationships in ways that make familismo an asset in treatment. However, for multiply marginalized Latines who endure intersectionality, familismo may not only be a detriment to trauma treatment, but the source of psychological distress itself. In this theoretical article, we center sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) Latines as we reconceptualize familismo as a potentially oppressive cultural value that may additionally be a contributing structural factor to both betrayal trauma exposure and dissociation by way of double-consciousness (du Bois, 1903). We define and briefly review the literature on familismo, intersectionality, and secondary marginalization. We also describe how intersectionality may contribute to dissociation and resistance through the framework of double-consciousness. We use a hypothetical case example to demonstrate the role of double-consciousness in dissociative responses to betrayal and discuss the implications for clinical practice and research.