Conversations with Locals

by Sebastian Abril

The biggest source of knowledge and authority I’ve been able to get the most information from at the mental health clinic in Cusco is the main psychologist, Doctor Emerson. He has been able to offer me a lot of insight on the type of lifestyle most people live here and how it can interact with mental health. Most of the patients that we see at the clinic suffer from problems with substance misuse, especially alcohol. Doctor Emerson told me that a big reason why that is is because the culture at Cusco is one where alcohol is heavily promoted during celebrations or small festivities. People don’t usually see alcohol as a drug but more as way to let go and enjoy the moment with the people around you. Although that’s not entirely dangerous on its own, the doctor says that it is when your unable to view alcohol as a dangerous drug and instead utilize it to distract from your reality that it an addiction can get out of hand and turn into a mental disorder. Another important person I talked to is one of the head nurses, who told me that people in Cusco and around South America are only now beginning to see the significance of mental healthcare. She told me that most people still don’t view disorders such as depression or drug addiction as legitimate diseases and instead believe that their wellbeing is in completely in their own hands. Because of this, the mental health clinic is not always filled with patients and the facility also lack funding for important assets such as cameras, security guards, and health technologies.

I have noticed that although many of the patients at the clinic suffer from some type of disorder, their condition is only made worse by external factors in their life such as money or family life; patients of substance misuse often use drugs to distract themselves from bigger problems facing them in their life. Every morning the doctor interviews the patients and often gets them to rethink their condition and how it fits into a bigger theme; the first step is always to get the patients to understand why they are there in the first place. I also noticed that many patients don’t have a strong support circle of friends outside the clinic, but I think I’ve been able to be a strong and comforting figure for a lot of them which makes me very grateful to be able to help them out in that way.

I feel that interviews are more direct sources of information whereas with observations you’re often coming to conclusions by your own, although this means that you probably aren’t getting the most accurate ideas. I like to hear a lot of stories from the doctors, patients, and other interns about their life in Cusco and every detail helps me get a bigger grasp of what the world is like outside of my bubble. Additionally, those people are always eager to hear stories about my life in the United States and what a different perspective it is over there. It is always interesting to me to be able to compare certain ideas with people who grew up in this area most of their life. I think that co-constructing knowledge is all about that exchange of information that is able to generate new ideas in the minds of different people and the communities they belong to. I also think by sharing ideas about life in the United States, I’m able to give hope to a lot of people who have not been able to leave the city yet but dream of the opportunity to travel to different countries and continue studying or working on their goals.