Policy Press
Connecting psychological stress and colonialism
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June Sadd
Abstract
Despair, helplessness, hopelessness; my experience for 30 years and I go back there occasionally. Mostly, I stay away, avoiding invitations to return. What has this to do with the lead essay? These same overwhelming feelings pervade the social work profession, particularly in mental health. Social work needs alliances with activists in the user movement. My perspectives as a survivor activist and social work educator influence my response to the author.(Note: I include mental health service users in the description ‘disabled people’ as it is used in its political context and I recognise that not all mental health service users accept this description.)
I agree with the author’s critical analysis of the medical model’s dominance in diagnoses and interventions. I agree with his exhortation to value-driven, relationship-based social work based on the social model. I agree that social work, particularly in mental health, needs to integrate the political and professional, valuing Marxist theory. Otherwise, it will fail when faced with the opportunistic alliance of state, corporations and financial institutions. In individual practice through supposed partnership-working with other disciplines, social work has tried to educate colleagues. There is recognition of the approach and values that social work brings to mental health teams but its influence is limited as the system and its structures remain health-dominated. Continue talking, but also act in the ways recommended by the author.
There is so much of value in the article, and in my response, I would like to go deeper on one particular aspect, the author’s thoughts on ‘connecting psychological stress and colonialism’, drawing on my own identity and narrative.
Abstract
Despair, helplessness, hopelessness; my experience for 30 years and I go back there occasionally. Mostly, I stay away, avoiding invitations to return. What has this to do with the lead essay? These same overwhelming feelings pervade the social work profession, particularly in mental health. Social work needs alliances with activists in the user movement. My perspectives as a survivor activist and social work educator influence my response to the author.(Note: I include mental health service users in the description ‘disabled people’ as it is used in its political context and I recognise that not all mental health service users accept this description.)
I agree with the author’s critical analysis of the medical model’s dominance in diagnoses and interventions. I agree with his exhortation to value-driven, relationship-based social work based on the social model. I agree that social work, particularly in mental health, needs to integrate the political and professional, valuing Marxist theory. Otherwise, it will fail when faced with the opportunistic alliance of state, corporations and financial institutions. In individual practice through supposed partnership-working with other disciplines, social work has tried to educate colleagues. There is recognition of the approach and values that social work brings to mental health teams but its influence is limited as the system and its structures remain health-dominated. Continue talking, but also act in the ways recommended by the author.
There is so much of value in the article, and in my response, I would like to go deeper on one particular aspect, the author’s thoughts on ‘connecting psychological stress and colonialism’, drawing on my own identity and narrative.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Series editors’ introduction ix
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Lead essay
- Social work and mental health 1
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Responses
- Letting madness breathe? Critical challenges facing mental health social work today 29
- Agents of change? Social work for well-being and mental health 39
- Connecting psychological stress and colonialism 49
- ‘Diagnosis human’: markets, targets and medicalisation in community mental health services 57
- The problem with recovery 63
- A student social worker’s perspective 71
- Observations from the front line 77
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Concluding remarks
- Some concluding thoughts 83
- References 87
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Notes on contributors vii
- Series editors’ introduction ix
-
Lead essay
- Social work and mental health 1
-
Responses
- Letting madness breathe? Critical challenges facing mental health social work today 29
- Agents of change? Social work for well-being and mental health 39
- Connecting psychological stress and colonialism 49
- ‘Diagnosis human’: markets, targets and medicalisation in community mental health services 57
- The problem with recovery 63
- A student social worker’s perspective 71
- Observations from the front line 77
-
Concluding remarks
- Some concluding thoughts 83
- References 87
