Perspectives on psychiatry education in Latin America

Psychiatry's practice in Latin America is unique as it comes from the junction of the indigenous cultures and their conceptualization of mental disorders, the European colonizers who brought with them the early modern psychiatric conceptualizations and, later, the Africans who were forced to migrate to the continent as slaves and introduced elements of the African culture. With this background in mind it is easier to understand why Latin America is a multiethnic and multicultural continent. In order to be able to practice in this particular context, Psychiatry should take into account all the aforementioned elements in the design of its educational programmes. Nevertheless, Latin American countries have a tremendous deficit in mental health providers and, as such, are in dire need to strengthen their residency programmes and their recruitment processes in order to be able to meet the needs of the population. This paper sets out to review the current state of psychiatric education in Latin America and describe in more detail the current training programmes available in the region. It also discusses the perceptions of Latin American psychiatric residents regarding their training programmes and presents possible alternatives for the future of training.