The perception of blindness and its impact in the implementation of emotional support for sight loss in Mexico: A psycho-social study in rehabilitation centres

Thompson, Leslie

Abstract

This research is the first psycho-social study to explore the perception of blindness and its impact on the implementation of emotional support for people with sight loss in rehabilitation centres in Mexico.
At an individual level the study deepens the understanding of sight loss as a process involving loss, mourning and reconstruction of identity, extending Thurston’s Five Stage Model (2010). At a social level, other key aspects of the research include how perceptions of blindness in Mexico are shaped by cultural constructs such as the Charity Model of Disability introduced in the Spanish colonial period. This model fosters ableism and a social hierarchy that devalues people with impairments, while placing people without impairments as their saviours. These historical influences are mirrored in the contemporary healthcare and educational landscape, marked by resource disparity that perpetuates disability and intersects with class oppression.
Identifying individual psychological adjustment needs of people with sight loss to the care providing organisations was a positive outcome of the work. The researcher developed and implemented a specialist training protocol for psychologists and staff working at the rehabilitation centres, embodying an academic activist approach.
The findings suggest that a positive environment, social support, and inclusion opportunities are crucial for the adjustment to blindness. However, they also shed light on the problems of inaccessibility of education and scarce work opportunities, mainly linked to manual low wage occupations.
Finally, the interlinked nature and interplay of individual, social and cultural levels for people with blindness in Mexico is given a theoretical elaboration by adapting Lacan’s Borromean knot concept, addressing the real (physical loss), the imaginary (personal and social meanings of sight loss) and the symbolic (cultural norms) dimensions, and calls for collective action from clinicians, academics, and activists to dismantle these systemic barriers and foster a greater social inclusivity.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 1, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 9, 2024
• Keywords: Emotional impact of sight loss, Five Stage Model, Psycho-social studies, perception of blindness in Mexico, Charity Model of Disability, implementing emotional support for people with sight loss at rehabilitation centres, training protocol for psychologis
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10897324
• Award Date: Jan 9, 2024