According to the Global Trauma Project,  after the 2010 earthquake, a research team went in to access the mental health and facilities available to Haitians living in Haiti. Pre-existing mental conditions such as major depressive disorder, psychotic features, and substance abuse had hardly been recognized or addressed due to a lack of resources and existing prejudices. 

 

 

Trauma-induced mental disorders are also very common in Haiti.  After the earthquake, many Haitians witnessed terrible and traumatic things like the deaths of friends and loved ones, losing their homes and businesses. They've also seen and experienced violence as their country descended into chaos in the aftermath. One of the ways the trauma manifested within these people is through mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorder (PTSD). Although according to a report by The World Health Organization (WHO) there is no reliable data on the prevalence of mental health problems, Haiti has one of the lowest rates of psychological and counseling-related support in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the world. 

Culturally, due to the lack of formal mental health resources, Haitians prefer to turn to elders and religious leaders in the community rather than mental health professionals. One of the biggest reasons why is religion and spirituality. Religion plays a huge role in Haiti, socially, economically, and politically. Those with mental conditions are likely to be denounced within their religious communities. They are also likely to be labeled as  “fou” (crazy) and lose respect for their peers, a terrifying prospect for Haitian families especially the younger people who have promising futures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spirituality is so deeply ingrained within the Haitian culture that some Haitians struggle to separate it from real life.

 

“A lot of times they had a hard time distinguishing between what's supernatural and what's actually like organic in nature", says Dr. Josie Augustin, a Haitian psychologist based in Florida.  "They would believe that somebody threw something on them or, put a curse on them or it was like they had gotten into someone. And this is why they're unable to function as they used to.”

 

Another reason that mental health is so taboo in Haiti according to Dr. Jessica Jefferson, a Haitian therapist based in Florida, is because of “passed down traditions”  

 

“We find ways to appropriate things that make sense to us and adapt in that way”, she said. “mental health has never been a thing that we've had to deal with because we have then dealt with it through culture, the music, through dance, through food as a way to cope versus a way to heal and deal with those actual traumas. So it's like telling me there's a place where there's no gravity and I've only lived where gravity exists.”