Fernando Chacón Serrano, MSc Student Psychology, Western University
My name is Fernando, a psychologist, researcher, teacher, and psychotherapist from El Salvador. I hold a Master’s in Community Psychology from the University of Chile, a Specialization in Trauma and Clinical Studies at the Chilean Institute of Clinical Social Work and a BA in Psychology from the Central America University in El Salvador.
I am currently a MSc student in the Clinical Science and Psychopathology program at Western University and a member of the Research on Addiction & Disparities (RoAD) Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Jesus Chavarria. As a graduate student I am interested in researching the links between trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders, particularly among survivors of the Salvadoran civil war and their family members. Based on research, I aspire to develop and evaluate effective treatments for these and other populations facing similar situations.
Previously, I have also researched the social memory of the Salvadoran armed conflict in new generations, both in the children of former guerrilla and military combatants, and the impacts of past and present violence in relation to intergenerational trauma, reparations, and mental health. In 2023, my study on children of ex-military personnel received second place in the National Research Award given by the Ministry of Education of El Salvador.
Likewise, I am interested in exploring and implementing alternative methodologies for mental health and trauma work, such as yoga and mindfulness, which I have implemented with war survivors and young people from the communities of Chalatenango.
Current Research Project: Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Survivors of the Salvadoran Civil War
In my research on the children of former combatants, it is evident that the Salvadoran civil war, despite having ended more than 30 years ago, still has significant implications for the mental health of direct survivors and their descendants. In the rural communities of Chalatenango where I work, addiction and substance abuse are complex and recurring problems, possibly related to the traumatic experiences of wartime violence, which intertwine with present-day challenges such as migration and social violence.
Given the concerning nature of this issue and the lack of scientific evidence from Salvadoran psychology, my long-term professional goal is to deepen the understanding of the mental health impacts of the war, particularly in relation to addictive disorders and substance abuse in these communities from an intergenerational perspective. My motivation is to develop and evaluate effective treatments for these and other populations facing similar situations.
Publications
Children of ex-military
Chacón Serrano, F., Fabián Rodríguez, C., Escobar Pacheco, J., Marroquín Salamanca, D., Aparicio Silis, A., & Menjívar Cartagena, F. (2022). Construcción de memorias del conflicto armado salvadoreño en jóvenes descendientes de excombatientes militares [Construction of memories of the Salvadoran Armed Conflict in descendants of ex-military]. Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas (UCA). http://hdl.handle.net/11674/5970
Chacón Serrano, F., Fabián Rodríguez, C., Escobar Pacheco, J., Marroquín Salamanca, D., Aparicio Silis, A., & Menjívar Cartagena, F. (2021). Abusos de la memoria por el Gobierno salvadoreño y las prácticas de resistencia desde las nuevas generaciones [Abuses of memory by the Salvadoran government and resistance practices from new generations]. Revista Estudios Psicosociales Latinoamericanos, 4(1), 97-115. https://doi.org/10.25054/26196077.3155
Videos on the memories of the war in children of ex-military
Chapter 3: Reparation
Children of ex-guerrilla
Chacón Serrano, F., & Reyes Andreani, M. J. (2023). Recordar lo que no se vivió: jóvenes, comunidad y memorias del conflicto armado salvadoreño [Remembering what was not experienced: young people, community, and memories of the Salvadoran armed conflicto]. Teoría y Praxis, (43), 15–40. https://doi.org/10.61604/typ.v1i43.309
Chacón Serrano, F. (2020). “Estamos en guerra”: memorias del conflicto armado salvadoreño y sus tramas narrativas en jóvenes de una comunidad desplazada [“We are at war”: memories of the Salvadoran armed conflict in young people from a displaced community]. Estudios Centroamericanos (ECA), 75(763), 71-96. https://doi.org/10.51378/eca.v75i763.3284
Contact
nchacon@uwo.ca