The ‘feminisation’ of psychiatric discourse: A Marxist analysis of women’s roles in neoliberal society

2021 ◽  
pp. 144078332110435
Author(s):  
Bruce MZ Cohen ◽  
Rearna Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Sexual Interest ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Traditional Gender Roles ◽  
Arousal Disorder ◽  
The Social ◽  
Psychiatric Discourse

In analysing the increasing rates of female ‘mental illness’ in neoliberal society, this article draws on Marxist and feminist theory to conceptualise psychiatry as an institution of patriarchal and capitalist power, responsible for reinforcing traditional gender roles. Through outlining the changing circumstances of women, including the recent ‘feminisation’ of the labour force, we argue that there has been a more acute need for patriarchal capitalism to curtail the emancipatory potential of women through the heightened enforcement of sex-role ideology. This is demonstrated through a profile of ‘feminised’ mental disorders which have appeared in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM) since 1980 – including premenstrual dysphoric disorder and female sexual interest/arousal disorder – which we argue purposely reproduce a discourse which restricts women’s advancements in paid employment while reinforcing the cliché of ‘respectable femininity’ as still primarily associated with the family and the home. We conclude the article by suggesting that, under the conditions of neoliberalism, the mental health system is becoming an increasingly powerful institution for the social control of gender.

Transforming Normality into Pathology: The DSM and the Outcomes of Stressful Social Arrangements

2007 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan V. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Unmet Need ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Need For Treatment ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
The Social

The sociology of stress shows how nondisordered people often become distressed in contexts such as chronic subordination; the losses of status, resources, and attachments; or the inability to achieve valued goals. Evolutionary psychology indicates that distress arising in these contexts stems from psychological mechanisms that are responding appropriately to stressful circumstances. A diagnosis of mental disorder, in contrast, indicates that these mechanisms are not functioning as they are designed to function. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, however, has come to treat both the natural results of the stress process and individual pathology as mental disorders. A number of social groups benefit from and promote the conflation of normal emotions with dysfunctions. The result has been to overestimate the number of people who are considered to be disordered, to focus social policy on the supposedly unmet need for treatment, and to enlarge the social space of pathology in the general culture.

Assessing Mental and Behavioral Disorder Impairment: Overview of Sixth Edition Approaches

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Norma Leclair ◽  
Steve Leclair ◽  
Robert Barth
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Behavioral Disorders ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Behavioral Disorder ◽  
Behavioral Impairment ◽  
Central Nervous System Damage ◽  
Brain Functioning ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Mental And Behavioral Disorders

Abstract Chapter 14, Mental and Behavioral Disorders, in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Sixth Edition, defines a process for assessing permanent impairment, including providing numeric ratings, for persons with specific mental and behavioral disorders. These mental disorders are limited to mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and psychotic disorders, and this chapter focuses on the evaluation of brain functioning and its effects on behavior in the absence of evident traumatic or disease-related objective central nervous system damage. This article poses and answers questions about the sixth edition. For example, this is the first since the second edition (1984) that provides a numeric impairment rating, and this edition establishes a standard, uniform template to translate human trauma or disease into a percentage of whole person impairment. Persons who conduct independent mental and behavioral evaluation using this chapter should be trained in psychiatry or psychology; other users should be experienced in psychiatric or psychological evaluations and should have expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and behavioral disorders. The critical first step in determining a mental or behavioral impairment rating is to document the existence of a definitive diagnosis based on the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The article also enumerates the psychiatric disorders that are considered ratable in the sixth edition, addresses use of the sixth edition during independent medical evaluations, and answers additional questions.

Angststörungen – von der ICD-10 zur ICD-11

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Timo D. Vloet ◽  
Marcel Romanos
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
International Classification Of Diseases ◽  
International Classification ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Dsm 5 ◽  
Classification Of Diseases ◽  
Icd 10

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Nach 12 Jahren Entwicklung wird die 11. Version der International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) von der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) im Januar 2022 in Kraft treten. Methodik: Im Rahmen eines selektiven Übersichtsartikels werden die Veränderungen im Hinblick auf die Klassifikation von Angststörungen von der ICD-10 zur ICD-11 zusammenfassend dargestellt. Ergebnis: Die diagnostischen Kriterien der generalisierten Angststörung, Agoraphobie und spezifischen Phobien werden angepasst. Die ICD-11 wird auf Basis einer Lebenszeitachse neu organisiert, sodass die kindesaltersspezifischen Kategorien der ICD-10 aufgelöst werden. Die Trennungsangststörung und der selektive Mutismus werden damit den „regulären“ Angststörungen zugeordnet und können zukünftig auch im Erwachsenenalter diagnostiziert werden. Neu ist ebenso, dass verschiedene Symptomdimensionen der Angst ohne kategoriale Diagnose verschlüsselt werden können. Diskussion: Die Veränderungen im Bereich der Angsterkrankungen umfassen verschiedene Aspekte und sind in der Gesamtschau nicht unerheblich. Positiv zu bewerten ist die Einführung einer Lebenszeitachse und Parallelisierung mit dem Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Schlussfolgerungen: Die entwicklungsbezogene Neuorganisation in der ICD-11 wird auch eine verstärkte längsschnittliche Betrachtung von Angststörungen in der Klinik sowie Forschung zur Folge haben. Damit rückt insbesondere die Präventionsforschung weiter in den Fokus.

Validación de la escala de sintomas somáticos (SSS-8) en pacientes de una zona rural en Ecuador

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercy García ◽  
Ernestina Tamami ◽  
Giovanni Rojas-Velasco ◽  
Carolina Posso ◽  
Galo Sánchez del Hierro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Somatic Symptom ◽  
Symptom Scale ◽  
Statistical Manual ◽  
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽  
Calidad De Vida ◽  
Dsm V ◽  
Scale 8

Introducción.- Los síntomas somáticos causan malestar y afectan la calidad de  vida de los pacientes, incrementando la frecuencia del uso de los servicios de salud. En Ecuador no existe un instrumento validado que evalúe somatización. La escala Somatic Symtom Scale-8 (SSS-8), es un instrumento usado como medida de referencia en the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-V), para evaluar la carga de síntomas somáticos, validada en inglés y adaptada culturalmente a los idiomas alemán y japonés. Objetivos.- En esta investigación el propósito fue validar la escala “Somatic Symptom Scale-8” y determinar sus propiedades métricas. Métodos.- Investigación descriptiva y transversal en la que se realizó la validación de la herramienta clínica SSS-8 en 401 pacientes en la consulta externa del hospital Pedro Vicente Maldonado, desde mayo a julio de 2017. Para el análisis de datos se utilizaron los programas estadísticos SPSS versión 23, Latent gold y EpiDat 3.1. Resultados.- El grupo mayoritario fue de 30 a 47 años, con ligero predominio del sexo masculino (con 52,6%) sobre el femenino (47,4%). El SSS-8 mostró adecuadas propiedades métricas (alfa de Cronbach de 0,73). Mediante este análisis se obtuvo que, los pacientes que respondieron: algo, bastante o muchísimo en las dimensiones sentirse cansado, dolor de cabeza, dolor de brazos y dolor de espalda; tenían un 99% de probabilidades de presentar somatización. Conclusiones.- En este estudio, el SSS-8 demostró ser una herramienta útil para evaluar los síntomas somáticos en pacientes que acuden a consulta externa, ya que presentó buenas propiedades métricas: consistencia interna elevada, buena validez y una apropiada capacidad discriminativa.

Beyond the Social Determinants of Health

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Laura Hall ◽  
Urpi Pine ◽  
Tanya Shute
Keyword(s):  
Labour Force ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Social ◽  
Weather Changes ◽  
People First

Abstract This paper will reflect on key findings from a Summer 2017 initiative entitled The Role of Culture and Land-Based Healing in Addressing and Ending Violence against Indigenous Women and Two-Spirited People. The Indigenist and decolonizing methodological approach of this work ensured that all research was grounded in experiential and reciprocal ways of learning. Two major findings guide the next phase of this research, complicating the premise that traditional economic activities are healing for Indigenous women and Two-Spirit people. First, the complexities of the mainstream labour force were raised numerous times. Traditional economies are pressured in ongoing ways through exploitative labour practices. Secondly, participants emphasized the importance of attending to the responsibility of nurturing, enriching, and sustaining the wellbeing of soil, water, and original seeds in the process of creating renewal gardens as a healing endeavour. In other words, we have an active role to play in healing the environment and not merely using the environment to heal ourselves. Gardening as research and embodied knowledge was stressed by extreme weather changes including hail in June, 2018, which meant that participants spent as much time talking about the healing of the earth and her systems as the healing of Indigenous women in a context of ongoing colonialism.

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