Alejandra Aguilar Palencia, Ph.D. Student Hispanic Studies, Western University
My dissertation project, “Mental Health, Survivor Testimony, and Resiliance After the Salvadoran Civil War,” focuses on the analysis of the testimonies of victim-survivors. My specific interest is to understand how the issue of mental health or resilience strategies of victim-survivors from war-affected communities in the Department of Chalatenango in El Salvador have been addressed and how they could be addressed. At the same time, I explore how people have overcome trauma through healing and reconciliation processes.
By reviewing testimonies, I seek to identify important elements that spontaneously address the issue of mental health, paying attention to the feelings and emotions expressed. I am especially interested in analyzing the processing of these feelings on a personal or collective level after trauma. I approach my research with a consideration about survivors' own processes of awareness, emotional management, healing, and reconciliation. Mental health is currently not a priority in El Salvador. Therefore, with this research, I also seek to highlight how important it is to focus on mental health to address the nature of violence in contexts such as El Salvador.