Mental Health Industrial Complex

Structures of Self

In this episode I talk about a research article called "The Mental Health Industrial Complex: A Study in Three Cases" by Dr. Eric M. Greene from 2019 in The Journal of Humanistic Psychology. Dr. Greene explains through three case studies how the biomedical model of diagnosing creates individualized health conditions while ignoring environmental and social factors, medicalizes natural human behavior that is a response to unhealthy environments, and by pathologizing behavior it can make mental illness symptoms worse.

It is worth noting that in the first section of the episode, first 26 minutes, I talk about my personal struggles with mental illness when I was younger. If you would rather skip this part you can hop to the 27th minute to focus on the research of Dr. Greene. BUT discussing my experiences puts into context why I am so interested in this research, and on the intersection of environment and health in general.

In addition to the article I also reference The Happiness Industry by William Davies. Great book, highly recommend. I use this book as a reference point for my episode on Happiness from awhile back (Happiness Part 2 specifically) So check that out if you want deeper context and analysis of The Happiness Industry, which delves into the history of the American mental health industry.

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