Development of a Collaborative Network: Latin-American Network for Research in Psychotherapy and Mental Health in Sexual and Gender Diversity

Abstract

The main goal of this article is to describe the formation and development of a Latin-American network for research in psychotherapy and mental health in sexual and gender diversity. Research has shown that psychological well-being and mental health problems of sexual minority individuals are strongly influenced by the particular social and cultural contexts in which people develop and live. Therefore, the development of effective psychological and mental health interventions that meet the specific needs of people of sexual and gender diversity is necessary to deepen the knowledge of the psychosocial and specific contextual-related aspects of mental health of these populations. The Latin-American network for research in psychotherapy and mental health in sexual and gender diversity seeks to reinforce the contextualized study of these topics. This is an ongoing project that has generated collaborative work among researchers from centers in Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina. The diverse modalities of collaboration that have been developed so far between the centers are described, as well as the specific products that have emerged from these efforts. Finally, there is a discussion of the value of regional collaborative work in the global south that, while emphasizing differences, allows the comparison of different contexts, their histories, and influences on the object of study, as well as the shared cultural similarities derived from a common geographic space and history.