The struggle for the social: rejecting the false separation of 'social' worlds in mental health spaces

How are we to best grapple with the notion of the Social in mental health landscapes? This piece of speculative work explores a series of tensions that emerge in our attempt to contemplate, engage with, and address the social in mental health spaces. First, I will explore the tensions created by disciplinary demands for specialisation, questioning the value of this with regard to treating social and emotional bodies which continually reject such fragmentation. This line of inquiry then leads to reflection on the value of a social topology-enabled through the application of intersectionality principles, Black Sociological analytical frameworks, including the worldview approach, and societal psychological perspectives on knowledge and action. I argue the possibilities in actioning these approaches emerge through the application of a social-political economy of mental health, that holds the complexity presented by the totality of social life as it potentially relates to mental health. The piece seeks to advance a space of thinking on how we transition global mental health projects to be more effectively situated in a needed commitment for social justice as a remedy and repair to broken social worlds.

Automated summary

This speculative work examines the tensions that arise when dealing with the social aspect of mental health. It questions the value of specialization in treating social and emotional bodies and explores the use of intersectionality principles, Black Sociological analytical frameworks, and societal psychological perspectives to enable a social topology. The author argues for the application of a social-political economy of mental health to consider the complexity of social life in relation to mental health. The piece aims to promote the integration of global mental health projects with a commitment to social justice as a remedy for broken social worlds.