Sana Sana Colita de Rana; Mental Health Awareness and Practices of Mexican Americans in the Heart of Little Village

The field of psychology is dominated by Eurocentric practices based on the populations of the Global North and they have been imposed on the rest of the world without much research to prove that they fit a global population (Bhatia & Priya, 2021). As people with a history of colonization Mexican Americans are not treated as people who can produce their own knowledge, but Mexican Americans have a long and rich history (Hernández-Wolfe, 2013). Mexican immigrants and their descendants need to find ways to create community and connection through our cultural heritage. Mexican Americans are directly impacted by anti-immigrant policy and sentiment (Ornelas et al., 2020, Williams et al., 2019) that has become a hot topic in the last several years. As a marginalized population Mexican Americans mental health is directly impacted (Wood & Newbold, 2011). To try to understand how this community views mental health, and how community, culture, and mental health are interconnected in this community I conducted informal interviews in the Mexican American community of Little Village. The community members seem to express concerns over violence in the community and they believe mental health is of great concern. They worry that the youth in this community do not have enough places where they participate in activities that allow them to express themselves in healthy ways. Despite their concerns, they have a deep love for their community and desire to see it improve. More broadly, this research will help understand how immigrant communities practice mental healthcare and what some of their major concerns regarding their mental health are in the hopes that we can expand the field of mental health through post-colonial praxis.