Mental health in an age of celebrity: the courage to care

P Barker; P. Buchanan-Barker

doi:10.1136/jmh.2008.000539

Mental health in an age of celebrity: the courage to care

P Barker
, P. Buchanan-Barker

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Modern psychiatry, which once focused only on the containment and "cure" of madness, has evolved into a mental health industry, where almost every aspect of human life, may be cast as a "mental disorder". In Western countries, a narcissistic appetite for self-improvement and "well-being" has evolved over the past 50 years, mirroring the emergence of the celebrity culture. These developments appear linked to a fading of interest in the traditional concept of human caring, leading to a further marginalisation of people with serious "mental health problems" and to increased use of authoritarian forms of control and containment. In this paper, the idea of vocation in the field of mental health is explored. What exactly are we called to do as people-whether as professionals, friends or fellow travellers-when someone experiences a significant problem in human living?

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	110-114
Number of pages	5
Journal	Medical Humanities
Volume	34
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/jmh.2008.000539
Publication status	Published - 2008

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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10.1136/jmh.2008.000539

Cite this

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Mental health in an age of celebrity: the courage to care

Abstract

UN SDGs

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