article
Doctor, espiritista or psychiatrist?: health-seeking behavior in a Puerto Rican neighborhood of New York City
Medical anthropology • 1 (3) • Published In 1977 • Pages: 65-191
By: Garrison, Vivian.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of Puerto Rican folk medicine referred to as 'Spiritualism' (ESPIRITUALISMO), which has it's roots in Santería, an Afro-American syncretic cult; Spiritism (ESPIRITISMO), a southern European religious philosophy; and witchcraft (BRUJERIA). Although Spiritualism is considered a religion, most Puerto Ricans living in New York City use it only for its medical benefits. Garrison examines the census, and surveys of patients of psychiatric clinics and spiritualists' CENTROS, the congregations of subscribing followers/patients. She found that centros clients do not suffer any more from physical, mental, or emotional disorders than the general population. Also centros do not compete with clinics for patients, rather patients seek out both, first visiting a clinic, and only afterwards a centros if conventional treatment is not beneficial. SANTEROS specialize in treating the spiritual causes of illness and will refer patients suffering from 'material' causes to regular doctors. Garrison argues that spiritualism is akin to psychotherapy and occupies an important place in the healthcare system of Puerto Rican immigrants.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Personality disorders
- Morbidity
- General character of religion
- Sorcery
- Magical and mental therapy
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Medical therapy
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Puerto Ricans (Mainland)
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2002
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2000
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1966-1975
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1966-1975
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Bronx, New York, N. Y., United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Vivian Garrison
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-179)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 78643782
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Puerto Ricans--United States