International Perspectives on Psychotherapy by Stefan G. Hofmann

Author:Stefan G. Hofmann
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Globalization of Psychology

In 1991 the Southern Common Market [MERCOSUR] economic block was created. From an economic point of view, the block aimed to unify its member countries, however, through its advent, there was also an attempt to unify professionals in the field of psychology (C. Silva, 2013). Since 1994, psychologists and institutions from the MERCOSUR countries—Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay—gave rise to a joint policy, in order to set standards for the integration of professional practice and to develop the construction of a reference of Latin American psychology; in the following years this move was followed by Chile and Bolivia (which joined MERCOSUR), creating the Coordination Committee of MERCOSUR and associated countries [CCPM] (Cáceres, 2008).

Meetings of the CCPM intended to create a self-identity of Latin American psychology, through debate and the creation of ethical, political and economic agreements for the professional practice of psychologists in MERCOSUR and associated countries, as well as discussion of strategies to improve the quality in the training of psychologists and the circulation of services and professionals, common to the reality of its member countries (Cáceres, 2008).

Then, in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, regarding the theoretical approaches, psychoanalysis in Latin America had different levels of acceptance. In the early 2000s, in Argentina, the psychoanalytic approach was fully accepted in the clinical setting, while in other countries there was a partial acceptance of its theoretical concepts, such as in the case of Mexico, or a relative indifference, as in Cuba and Nicaragua (Klappenbach & Pavesi, 1994; Sosa & Valderrama-Iturbe, 2001). In Latin America, there was also a strong interest in cross-cultural, social and political psychology, especially in Cuba, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Ecuador - probably fostered by the social, economic and political organization of these countries (Sosa & Valderrama-Iturbe, 2001).

The experimental analysis of behavior also had its landmark in LA in the 1960s: in Brazil, with the visit of Fred S. Keller to the University of Brasilia (UNB) and in Mexico, with the visit of BF Skinner to the Congress of Behavior Analysis in 1975—expressing the recognition of Latin American behavior analysts (Colotla & Ribes, 1981). These exchanges between Latin America and the US encouraged the increase of production and scientific events in the area, and also supported the further development of cognitive-behavioral therapy, especially in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and later in Argentina (Sosa & Valderrama-Iturbe, 2001).

Considering both the historical and the contemporary context of the continent, we can observe that Latin American psychology has widely developed in regard to research and clinical practice, but it is still based on internationally defined themes (Gallegos et al., 2014; García, 2006; C. Silva, 2013). Indeed, Latin America has always faced complex political, historical and social conditions; nonetheless, its production and growth have never stopped, such as occurred with the history and development of Latin American psychology.

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