Benefits of Bolillo
A Latino patient suffering from posttraumatic stress will often revert back to her native tongue (bolillo), which is a common practice in many Hispanic populations. This is due to Hispanic culture’s underlying values of collectivism. This translates into patients seeking to build social support networks by interacting with friends and family members, rather than by engaging in individual therapy. This can lead to frustration on the part of therapists, since this type of patient will not be comfortable discussing emotional turmoil with them in their native language and may choose to revert back to Spanish as a form of self-expression.
These clinical concerns can be complicated and should be individualized according to the patient’s unique beliefs and ideologies, as well as how much participation they are willing to engage in treatment.