Betrayed by the Familia: Trauma, Dissociation, & Double-consciousness Among LGBTQ+ Latines

Abstract
Mental health practitioners assess and treat trauma and dissociation by considering the biopsychosocial factors influencing the symptomatology of clients. In this process, clinicians often default to a prescriptive model that inherently assigns generalized cultural values to certain marginalized groups. Particularly for Latines, clinicians may heighten the cultural value of familismo (e.g., Comas-Díaz, 2006; Falicov, 1998), the centering of family. This centering requires the collective mindset of putting family above the individual as a form of respect. These cultural values often translate into clinicians’ expectations that their Latine clients will cherish their familial relationships in ways that make familismo an asset in treatment. However, for multiply marginalized Latines who endure intersectionality (e.g., Collins, 2023), familismo may not only be a detriment to trauma treatment, but the source of psychological distress itself. If family relationships are central to Latine people, what happens when those relationships are betrayed for the purpose of upholding structurally oppressive norms, such as familismo? In this theoretical presentation, we center sexual and gender minoritized (SGM) Latines as we reconceptualize familismo as a potentially oppressive cultural value that may additionally be a contributing structural factor to both betrayal trauma exposure and dissociation by way of double-consciousness (DuBois, 1903). We define and briefly review the literature on familismo, intersectionality, and secondary marginalization (Cohen, 2009). We also describe how intersectionality may contribute to dissociation through the framework of double-consciousness. We use a hypothetical clinical case example of “Lupe” to demonstrate the role of double-consciousness in dissociative responses to various forms of betrayal trauma. Lupe, a nonbinary Latine, grew up in a Catholic home with a parent who physically abused them to uphold structurally oppressive norms (betrayal trauma). Lupe’s grandparent sees the physical abuse and do not interject (family betrayal). In these experiences, Lupe faced intersectional oppression and secondary marginalization from within their Latine family and community, along with the physical abuse itself (cultural betrayal trauma). Lupe has to make a decision between being their authentic self and maintaining a close relationship with their family. To maintain a relationship with their family, Lupe dissociates and engages in double-consciousness to cope. We will discuss the implications for clinical practice and research.