The findings draw our attention to design mental health intervention programs for the migrant laborers that amalgamate culturally situated healing besides the policy measures for their checking migration-induced miseries.
Authors
Sangeeta Yadav, Associate Professor, Jindal School of Psychology and Counselling, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Kumar Ravi Priya, Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Summary
The literature on the interdisciplinary approaches to mental health within psychology and psychiatry indicates that for a person living amid structurally induced (shaped by hierarchies of class, gender, religion, race, etc.) distress, the process of healing entails developing an enabling meaning in life, often facilitated by cultural beliefs or values. Based on this premise, in this ethnographic study, we explore the socioculturally contextualized experiences of healing among those poor Indian villagers who are forced to migrate to cities as unskilled migrant laborers in search of livelihood opportunities.
The narratives of 40 participants generated through semistructured interviews were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. The findings show (a) reaffirmation of relational self by carrying out one’s sociomoral roles and responsibilities, (b) adherence to socioreligious values (e.g., choosing righteous path), and (c) brighter sides of migration (e.g., better opportunities for children’s education) being salient aspects of the healing process.
The findings draw our attention to design mental health intervention programs for the migrant laborers that amalgamate culturally situated healing besides the policy measures for their checking migration-induced miseries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Published in: Qualitative Psychology
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