Why We Misunderstand Mental Health
James Davies
About the Course
We are misunderstanding mental illness. The topic has become increasingly talked about within public life, yet we still haven’t found a suitable way to tackle it. The medical solution is being pushed, but it’s not working, and the rates of mental illness continue to soar. So what is the alternative? Join Dr James Davies, who argues that our route out of the mental health crisis begins by understanding these issues have social causes, not biological ones.
By the end of the course, you will have learnt:
- How we understand mental health today
- Why we have overmedicalised mental health
- How politics intersects with mental health
- The relationship between Big Pharma and mental health
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The keys to improving the mental health crisis
IAI Academy courses are designed to be challenging but accessible to the interested student. No specialist knowledge is required.
About the Instructor
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James Davies
James Davies is a Reader in social anthropology and mental health, teaching in the Departments of Life Sciences and Psychology. He obtained his doctorate in social and medical anthropology from the University of Oxford and is also a qualified psychotherapist. He has practiced as a psychotherapist in various settings including the NHS.
He is co-founder of the Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry, which is now secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence
Course Syllabus
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Part One: How Did Mental Health Become Overmedicalised?In Part One, Dr James Davies will explore the reasons behind the overmedicalisation of mental health. He will share the processes by which authorities such as the DSM came to classify mental health.
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Part Two: Rethinking our Approach to Mental HealthIn this section, Dr James Davies will outline the impact of politics and Big Pharma on our current picture of mental health. He will conclude with suggestions on how we, as a society, should rethink our approach towards mental health
