Brad Huffey, associate professor of psychology at SMWC, enjoys some free time fishing in the Amazon River during one of his four visits to Peru since 2005. / Photo provided by Brad Huffey
By Emma Campbell
Staff Writer
(Appeared in the Sept. 7 print edition of The Woods)
Brad Huffey, Ph.D., has spent years studying the psychological treatment of prisoners in the United States. He evaluates inmates’ mental health treatment for Correctional Medical Services and provides psychological services for the Indiana Department of Corrections at the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle.** His work focused mainly on individual minds in a society that values individualism.
He wondered how mental health care treatment was different in a country where the collective is celebrated over the individual. To find out, he traveled more than 3,500 miles to Peru.
He is interested in mental health treatment in the prisons because “our current political system is limiting treatment for persons with mental illness and reducing hospital beds for persons with severe mental illness.”
Many of the prison inmates he works with who have mental illnesses were previously hospital patients. Huffey said the U.S. system wants to “graduate” people into the community where the support is often inadequate to keep them on the right track and to keep them from ending up back in the legal system. He wanted to understand the differences between the U.S. system and the Peruvian system.
Since 2005, he has visited Peru on four separate occasions to study and research the cultural differences in mental health treatment of prisoners. Three of Huffey’s four visits to Peru were funded by the Ambassador Jean Wilkowski Global Perspectives Faculty Grant.
The associate professor of psychology at SMWC began his visits not knowing exactly where he would focus.
“The initial research started out as just the practice and education of psychology, because psychology is such an individual-oriented field. I wanted to see how psychology was practiced and taught in a collectivist society.”
According to a 2007 Gallup poll, about half of Peruvians say they are more socialist than capitalist in their attitudes, compared to 16 percent who identify as more capitalist than socialist.
At first, the research was not even meant to take place in Peru. Huffey was originally supposed to conduct his study in Cuba; however, after the lengthy process of getting approved to travel there, he was denied access due to the country’s ongoing political unrest.
Once in Peru, Huffey expanded his focus by visiting the national hospital and national mental hospital, the latter of which serves about 30,000 patients a year. Huffey found differences at the national hospital in Peru, which has a leprosy unit and a unit for the care of tropical diseases.
Huffey said getting into such places can be very difficult, especially for non-natives and non-Spanish speakers.
“What’s unique about Peru is that they do not have the same systems of institutional review in regards to research,” he said. “And so as a researcher going in there, there are a lot of ethical challenges, because you don’t know exactly what to expect once you get there.”
Huffey said the key to navigating these situations is to make connections with those who can gain access to exclusive places.
The prisons and mental health care available in Peru have come under fire from human rights groups such as Amnesty International. The group called for closing Peruvian prisons with harsh or extreme conditions, which include prisons above 13,000 feet in altitude with no heat.
But Huffey said such conditions are not unusual in Peruvian culture, where several cities exist above 13,000 feet and have been populated for centuries.
The people there have adapted to the elevation and cold temperatures and do not use heat, he said. Many of Peru’s citizens live at or below the poverty level, and many of their living conditions would be considered harsh. Huffey said one cannot justify providing prisoners with amenities that the rest of the Andean people do not have.
In Peru, inmates are referred to as “interns.” They have been sent to prison to be reeducated, re-socialized, and rehabilitated. Interns are required to learn a trade and any cause of criminal behavior is treated. In the U.S., inmates are referred to as “offenders” who have been sent to prison to serve time as a punishment for their crimes. Inmates in the U.S. mostly have the free will to choose whether or not they enter a rehabilitation program appropriate for their crimes.
In his visits, he also took time to explore the culture and its people by visiting outdoor markets, dining on local cuisine, fishing on the Amazon River, and visiting with the native Yagua Indian tribe in a location that can only be accessed by either boat or plane.
Huffey said he encourages all students to travel abroad for study, research, or just enjoyment; though he suggests using electronics and technology only when necessary.
“Someone cannot fully immerse themselves into another culture and appreciate it when they can call, email, and Facebook their mom, dad, and friends at the same time,” he said.
** Due to an editing error, the print version of this story included incorrect information about Prof. Huffey’s employment.
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The Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College softball team held a round-robin tournament on Sept. 12 to open their fall season. The Pomeroys fell to Olney Central College andDanville Community College with scores of 6-7 and 8-9, respectively.
