ABSTRACT
Chile is a country with mental health problems that are reflected in alarming statistics, rising every year. Despite this, public spending for dealing with this problem, when compared to other countries with a similar situation, is very low. This issue has not prevented both the concept of mental health and its practices to have changed profoundly over time. This chapter will show the evolution of mental health in Chile, from Indigenous times through the colonial epoch, the influence of which continues to this day. In addition, the chapter will briefly describe the representations of health and disease in Chilean culture, the way of certification of mental health professionals, and current practices.
