This paper is based on the results of my doctoral research in anthropology on solidarity practices of integrative medicine in two non-governmental primary healthcare centers in the communes of Recoleta and Independencia, in Santiago de Chile. Both places are run by healthcare professionals with a background in social and community medicine. Historical, political and personal trajectories led these practitioners to move from the community healthcare practices previous to the military coup of 1973 to post-dictatorship primary healthcare practices where the political component is developed through non-conventional therapies. Among these are Bach Flowers, which I discuss in detail here. Based on the political philosophy of Jacques Rancière and the critical medical anthropology of Hans Bear, I argue that, in that transition, the unconventional healthcare practice of Bach Flowers became political practices of disagreement, where those silenced by the hegemonic political and the healthcare systems found ways to position themselves critically to the status quo. In this sense, therapies like Bach Flowers became a political practice that contests hegemonic power. Finally, the persistence of these practices until today shows the continuity of the circumstances that originated them.
Keywords:
critical medical anthropology, NGOs, Bach flowers, politics, Santiago of Chile
Junge, P. H. (2021). “Flower Power”. Bach Flower therapy as political practice in healthcare. Revista Chilena De Antropología, (43), 167–186. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-1472.2021.64438
