BEGINNINGS OF PSYCHIATRY IN BAJA CALIFORNIA: MENTAL HEALTH AND DRUG DEPENDENCE, 1964-1989

Abstract

This article looks at the transition of a practical problem into one of knowledge,
seeking to situate the first experiences of forerunners of psychiatry in the border
area between Mexico and the United States, precisely at the time of an open
struggle against drug dependence. Through career histories in hospitals, jails,
and drug detoxification clinics, a context will be defined in which seven
psychiatrists gained knowledge relative to the mentally ill in a region, which had
psychiatric educational programs and institutions only by the end of the 20th
century.