scholarly journals Colonizing Madness: Asylum and Community in Fiji

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Safua Akeli Amaama ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Brick Wall ◽  
Archival Research ◽  
Health Area ◽  
Solid Form ◽  
The Way

The cover artwork of this book created by Rotuman artist John Mausio, and titled ‘I am Here’ depicts an arresting image of a person painted as a combination of shadow and solid form, seated on a layer of rocks against a backdrop of a woven and solid brick wall. Mausio is himself an active artist in the mental health area working with the St Giles Hospital, a key centre of the book’s narrative. Comprising of seven chapters and populated with images of people and buildings, Leckie states ‘this book explores the way the practices and discourse of modern bio-medicine and mental health were articulated in local communities as well as in the asylum’ (p.3). Furthermore, her interest is in ‘reading the lunacy archive to address how madness was constructed and managed and how it affected individuals and communities in colonial Fiji’ (p.4). Leckie draws on archival research from ‘the remaining records of former patients at St Giles to explore the nebulous condition and label of madness and states of mental difference’ (p.4). These records are described as ‘fragmentary’ and ‘scribbled in shorthand by colonial officials and the doctors’ (p.5). Nonetheless, they provide an account of a complex and deeply affective narratives.

scholarly journals The role of non-governmental organizations in the mental health area: differences in understanding

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Zupančič ◽  
Majda Pahor
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Health Area ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations

Abstract Introduction The contribution’s aim is highlighting the differences in understanding non-governmental organizations’ (NGOs) role in the mental health area within the public support network for patients with mental health problems from various viewpoints, in order to achieve progress in supporting patients with mental health problems in local communities. Methods Qualitative data gathered as a part of a cross-sectional study of NGOs in the support network for patients with mental health problems in two Slovenian health regions (56 local communities), carried out in 2013 and 2014, were used. Qualitative analysis of interviews, focus groups and answers to an open survey question was performed. Results There are differences in understanding NGOs’ role in the support network for patients with mental health problems, which stem from the roles of stakeholders (local community officials, experts, care providers, and patients) within this system and their experience. Discussion and conclusion The actual differences need to be addressed and overcome in order to provide integrated community care. The importance of knowing the current state of NGOs in their life cycle and the socio-chronological context of the local community support network is evident.

The Way Ahead: Disaster Mental Health Systems of Care

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Perez ◽  
Merritt Schreiber ◽  
Robin Gurwitch ◽  
Jeff Coady
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
Disaster Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Systems ◽  
The Way

Ladakh and the Creative Greening of the Desert: The Life Work of Sonam Wangchuk and Rebecca Norman Through Alternative Practices in Education and Farming

2021 ◽  
pp. 239386172110146
Author(s):  
Susan Visvanathan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Alternative Education ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Water Harvesting ◽  
Cold Desert ◽  
Alternative Practices ◽  
Life Work ◽  
The Way

This article attempts to understand the way in which climate change affects the once dry cold desert of Ladakh and how local communities have adapted to these changes by becoming excellent organic gardeners. The contributions of Sonam Wangchuk and his work with regard to water harvesting and alternative education have been recognised by the Ramon Magsaysay Committee for 2018. This will propel Sonam to complete his life mission, which is the construction of a whole new township in Phey, to relieve Leh of the overload it now experiences. The article provides a background to the work of Sonam and his wife Rebecca Norman in the details of everyday life and work, which they bring to their school, SECMOL.

Unstoppable Decay and Relentless Hope: Study of Alterity in Popular Culture

2021 ◽  
pp. 56-76
Author(s):  
Adrien Ordonneau
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Popular Culture ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
The Uncanny ◽  
The World ◽  
The Way

Consequences of capitalism’s crises and their manifestations in arts have deeply modified the way we can approach mental health. As Mark Fisher pointed out in 2009 with his book Capitalist Realism, neoliberalism is using mental illness as a way to keep existing. The capacity to think a way out of alienation is deeply linked with arts and popular culture. The article proposes to study the uncanny dialogue between arts and politics in relationships to people, and mental health. The theoretical framework will show how arts are trying to build a way out of alienation, since 2009. The article will illustrate this research with the study of many artistic practices, including our own. The findings will show how the ambiguous and uncanny relationships with the world is used by artists as a way out of alienation, despite the difficulties occurring with mental health in time of crisis.

RECURSOS QUE SURGEN EN LAS PAREJAS EN TIEMPOS DE PANDEMIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (49) ◽  
pp. 37-52
Author(s):  
Gabriela Valls barrera ◽  
Daniela Vío GiaCaman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Positive Assessment ◽  
Positive Experiences ◽  
The Way

The COVID-19 pandemic and confinement, as a measure to stop the contagion, have had a strong impact on the mental health of the population. Emotions such as uncertainty, fear of contracting illness and anguish have increased. But, also, positive experiences have emerged that reinforce interdependence and social support, the appreciation of affections and a greater connection and reflection on the way of life. The objective of this article is to delve into the experience of some couples who have been able to constructively face quarantine and who express a positive assessment of what this time of confinement has contributed to their relationship. Three dimensions are identified in which resources have emerged during this crisis: family reorganization and multiplicity of roles, the appreciation of support networks and the strengthening of intimacy in the couple.

Mental Health Ontologies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janna Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Way

Mental health presents one of the defining public health challenges of our time. Proponents of different conceptions of what mental illness is wage war for the hearts and minds of patients, practitioners, policy-makers, and the public. Debate and fragmentation around the nature of the entities that feature in the mental health domain divide resources and reduce progress. The way mental health is publicly discussed in the media has tangible effects, in terms of stigma, access to healthcare and resources, and private expectations of recovery. This book explores in detail the sorts of statements that are made about mental health in the media and public reporting of scientific research, grounding them in the wider context of the theoretical frameworks, assumptions and metaphors that they draw from. The author shows how a holistic understanding of the way that different aspects of mental illness are interrelated can be developed from evidence-based interpretation of the latest research findings. She offers some ideas about corrective, integrative approaches to discussing mental health-related matters publicly that may reduce the opposition between conceptualisations while still aiming to reduce stigma, shame and blame. In particular, she emphasises that discourse in the media needs to be anchored to an overview of all the research results across the field and argues that this could be achieved using new technological infrastructures. The author provides an integrative account of what mental health is, together with an improved understanding of the factors driving the persistence of oppositional accounts in the public discourse. The book will be of benefit to researchers, practitioners and students in the domain of mental health.

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