Latinos’ Belief Systems Can Shape Analytic Process

Although most Latinos in the United States are Catholic or Protestant, a number also ascribe to two spiritual beliefs called Santeria and Spiritualism. When Latinos who hold such beliefs receive psychotherapy, it can influence the psychotherapeutic process.

So reported two social workers of Latino descent at the December meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association in New York City, during a session on the interface of psychotherapy with Santeria and Spiritualism. They were Annecy Baez, Ph.D., an assistant professor of social work at New York University, and David Hernandez, an assistant executive director of St. Christopher’s Inc. in New York City.

Santeria is based on the ancient West-African religion called Ifa, Baez and Hernandez explained. The Voodoo religion is also an offshoot of Ifa. Ifa and its derivatives are still practiced by some 100 million people worldwide. Ifa and its variants include a vast, colorful pantheon of gods and rituals for spiritual progress, divination, and healing; it also has a vibrant musicality based on drumming and chanting. Santeria priests are believed to be capable of curing illnesses, securing employment, attracting a lover, destroying enemies, or otherwise solving human problems.

Spiritualism, in contrast, is a spiritual belief system based on the belief in spirits, Baez and Hernandez continued. It originated with a Frenchman named Allen Kardec during the 1850s. Each person is supposed to have guardian angels who guide him or her through life. However, each person is also supposed to encounter evil spirits during life’s journey. So Spiritualism priests are used to communicate with both helpful and harmful spirits to find out what rituals might make them happy. Such rituals often consist of prayer, group-healing sessions, and personal cleansing through herbal baths.

In Spiritualism, as in Santeria, mental and physical illnesses are attributed to spiritual illness, biological illness, or both, Baez and Hernandez said. Both Spiritualism and Santeria stress the importance of harmony and balance in one’s life.

Education and socioeconomic level do not seem to have much influence on whether Latinos ascribe to Santeria or Spiritualism, Hernandez pointed out.

Beliefs Fall Along Continuum

There are also different levels of belief in Santeria and Spiritualism, he added. For instance, on Level One can be found Latinos who consider such beliefs unfounded and also Evangelical Latinos who consider such beliefs consorting with the devil. On Level Two can be found Latinos who do not personally adhere to Santeria and Spiritualism, but who nonetheless respect such beliefs. On Level Three can be found Latinos who are Catholic, but who may also have an altar at home to some Santeria deity. On Level Four are Latinos who attend Santeria ceremonies with drumming and dancing. “Their dancing is sort of like the Electric Slide,” Hernandez explained, “with participants repeating the same steps to honor a deity.” And on Level Five can be found those Latinos who are such fervent adherents of Santeria and Spiritualism that they have been initiated into having a patron deity.

Also of note, Hernandez added, Latinos can fluctuate between these different levels of belief in Santeria and Spiritualism depending on how much stress is present in their lives at a particular time. In other words, Hernandez said, “There is a spectrum of belief that goes from virtually no belief to fervent devotion, and a person can move along that spectrum depending on unemployment, illness in the family, infidelity of a spouse, or another stressor.”

Thus, considering that a number of Latinos adhere to Santeria and Spiritualism, at least during stressful periods of their lives, it is not so surprising that such beliefs can sometimes impact psychotherapy with them, Baez and Hernandez indicated.

For instance, a Latino patient in psychotherapy might attribute his job loss to a rational cause, say a company downsizing, while at the same time suspecting his wife of seeing another man because of malevolent spirits, Hernandez said.

And if the latter is the case, Hernandez continued, the patient might want to not only talk with his therapist about his suspicions that his wife is being unfaithful, but also visit a Santeria priest to find out whether his wife is truly seeing another man because of bad spirits. If the Santeria priest says that his wife is being unfaithful because of bad spirits, the patient may then decide to make an offering to the Santeria deity Oshun. This deity is supposed to help people resolve marital problems.

Still another example of how beliefs in Santeria and Spiritualism can influence psychotherapy, Baez said, is when believers enter religious trances. For instance, Baez had contact with a Latino family who had been personally affected by the September 11 attacks on the New York City World Trade Center and who also believed in Santeria and Spiritualism. The mother started talking to her nephew, who had been killed in the tragedy. Baez realized that the woman was not delusional, but had entered a religious trance and needed spiritual support rather than being admitted to the hospital on suspicions that she had schizophrenia.

Baez, in fact, has had contact with Latinos who have schizophrenia, yet who also adhere to Santeria and Spiritualism beliefs. She has helped such individuals learn to distinguish the symptoms of a pending psychotic crisis from the signs of an approaching religious trance.

Some Suggestions

So how can psychotherapists handle Latinos’ beliefs in Santeria and Spiritualism so that the beliefs facilitate, rather than impede, the psychotherapeutic process? Baez and Hernandez gave a few suggestions:

• Therapists should let patients bring up the subject of Santeria and Spiritualism, not broach it themselves. All Latinos do not hold such beliefs, and Evangelical Latinos find such beliefs anathema.

• If patients bring the subject up, therapists should let them know that they are somewhat familiar with such beliefs. As a result, patients will feel more comfortable with them and will feel that they have a common point of departure. Also, the information that the patients divulge about their beliefs may prove useful in psychotherapy.

• Therapists should respect patients’ Santeria and Spiritualism beliefs since, as Hernandez stressed, “nobody who practices any of these things thinks there is anything ‘folksy’ about it.”

• Finally, therapists should not be afraid that Santeria and Spiritualism practitioners are going to try to lure patients away from them. A number are quite knowledgeable about mental illness and usually try to get mentally troubled clients to seek conventional medical help. ▪