Polarised mental health politics and the struggle for ambivalence

Photograph of Dina Poursanidou with details repeated in text

A recording is now available of of this 22 March workshop with Konstantina Poursanidou PhD  –  “And the Activists tell us that Meds are Evil: Polarised mental health politics and the struggle for ambivalence”

Critical Voices Network Ireland (CVNI)  seminar workshop in partnership with the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century (ISS21) University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland, the Survivor Researcher Network (SRN) in UK and Asylum Magazine, together with the Onlinevents team.

“Current mental health politics in the UK- and the Global North at large – is characterised by an acute polarisation … including the nature of ‘mental illness’, psychiatric diagnosis, the effectiveness of drug treatments in comparison to psychotherapy, the problems associated with the use of psychiatric medication, ECT, and involuntary hospitalisation. … Given this intensified polarisation within mental health politics, this seminar will seek to critically discuss two key questions:

a) Why is it essential to listen to and value ambivalent (contradictory) views, emotions and attitudes when it comes to acutely contested issues in mental health?…

b) What does an ambivalent stance towards contested issues in mental health involve in the current political/economic and policy context of mental health care in the UK? …”

Recording and slides available here.

Led by Konstantina (Dina) Poursanidou, PhD. Dina is an independent Service User Researcher in mental health, a member of Asylum, the radical mental health magazine editorial group, and a co-director of SRN.

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