Tears, traditions, and transformations: Decolonizing mental health through community healing

Abstract

Psychology as a discipline has often been viewed as a neutral scientific discipline. However, it has been criticized for having a colonial legacy, with Western-centric theories and practices being imposed on non-Western cultures, which has been impacting mental health understanding and treatment in the country. Neoliberal privatization and colonization have systematically marginalized the indigenous knowledge and erased indigenous healing traditions, leading to already existing inaccessibility and unaffordability of mental health care. Therapy has become an elite privilege rather than a universal right due to the market-driven nature of modern mental health. This paper intends to explore the potential for a community-based crisis intervention system as an integrative approach to mental health care, focusing on state-supported models that can improve accessibility and affordability, reduce stigma, and bridge existing gaps by making it more culturally relevant. This study reviews global examples of community-based and decolonial mental health interventions and India's Atmiyata programme in Gujarat. This volunteer service identifies and supports people experiencing distress in rural communities. This paper critiques the neoliberal commodification of mental health, where therapy is marketed as an individualistic, privatized service rather than a social responsibility. It examines the state's responsibility in making mental health more accessible and affordable mental health services amid diminishing public health provisions. It emphasizes the potential benefits of a community-driven, state-supported intervention system, integrating it with reclaiming traditional healing practices. This paper further argues that integrating social and behavioural sciences at the community level could significantly enhance mental health outcomes and foster psychoeducation. The findings highlight the urgent need for decolonizing mental health by prioritizing affordable, grassroots interventions. This paper informs policy and future research to create pragmatic interventions and an inclusive mental health ecosystem integrated with local knowledge pools and collective healing. Keywords: Accessibility; decolonization; affordability; community-based intervention; scalable setups; psychoeducation; traditional healing

Keywords

Convergence Science - Social Science

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