Moving towards both committed research and intervention with a stronger social impact

Abstract

The content of this article is a reflection exercise on the following questions: How to conduct psychological intervention in contexts of struggle and resistance? How to understand psychological well-being in contexts in which the oneiric and cosmogonical worlds are vital? How to conduct intervention in contexts in which the community and working together- as it is in indigenous communities become priorities before the individual dimension takes place? Some proposals are related to transdisciplinarity and the recognition of the historical, social, political, religious and cultural context of the population who receives the intervention and participates in research. It is underlined that psychological intervention in indigenous communities should consider multiple histories of struggle and resistance since they demonstrate that mental and psychical health as well as social and natural order can configurate and be called differently.  For example, indigenous communities in southern Mexico use the term lekil kuxlejal which from a hegemonic perspective would be defined as mental health. This manuscript emphasizes that mental health, as well as physical health,  should be considered human rights to which everyone should have access to. On the other hand, reflection is done on the ethical aspects of this work and it is argued that it is important to return to participants the results of the research studies they take part of and generate joint actions that promote social transformation and both personal and social liberation processes. It is also defended that it is necessary to humanize disciplines of different knowledge areas and do scientific group work with and for the community. To do so, it is required to continue to make psychology more ours and generate both personal and community processes of re-evolution.