La lutte continue: Louis Mars and the genesis of ethnopsychiatry.

Abstract

The scientific contributions of Western mental health professionals have been lauded and leveraged for global mental health responses to varying degrees of success. In recent years, the necessity of recognizing the inefficiencies of solely etic and Western-based psychological intervention has been reflected in certain decolonial scholars like Frantz Fanon gaining more recognition. Despite this urgent focus on decolonial psychology, there are still others whose work has historically and contemporarily not received a great deal of attention. There is no better example of such a scholar than Dr. Louis Mars, Haiti's first psychiatrist. Mars made a lasting impact on the communities of Haiti by shifting the conversation around Haitian culture and the practice of how people living with a mental illness were treated. Further, he influenced the global practice of psychiatry by coining "ethnopsychiatry" and asserting that non-Western culture should be intimately considered, rather than stigmatized, in treating people around the world. Unfortunately, the significance of his contributions to ethnopsychiatry, ethnodrama, and the subsequent field of psychology has effectively been erased from the disciplinary canon. Indeed, the weight of Mars' psychiatric and political work deserves focus.

Reclaiming the past and transforming our future: Introduction to the special issue on foundational contributions of Black scholars in psychology.

“…In their contribution to decolonial scholarship within psychology, Auguste, Beauliere, et al (2023) draw attention to Haitian psychiatrist Dr. Louis Mars’ underexamined contributions to psychology. Auguste and colleagues explore Mars’ life, the sociohistorical and sociopolitical context of his work, and his contributions to ethnopsychiatry.…”