Vol IX, Issue 1 Date of Publication: January 12, 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20529/IJME.2023.070

Views
, PDF Downloads:

Reframing language in mental health discourses: Towards a more humane approach

SV Chetan
Abstract:
This is a reflection on the nature of language used by psychologists in the contexts of referrals and assessments. Through an example of a brief referral, I attempt to unpack the “clinical” language that may dehumanise and pathologise individuals. Further, I attempt to reframe it through a language, that is not just a shift from “deficits” to “strengths”, rather a discourse respecting personhood. With a brief emphasis on neurodiversity and feminism, I reflect on the importance of incorporating affirmative language whether it is neuro-affirmative, queer-affirmative, age- or caste-affirmative, within and outside mental health practice.


Copyright and license
©Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2023: Open Access and Distributed under the Creative Commons license ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0),
which permits only non-commercial and non-modified sharing in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.

Full Text

HTML | PDF

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Please restrict your comment preferably to 800 words
Comments are moderated. Approval can take up to 48 hours.

Help IJME keep its content free. You can support us from as little as Rs. 500 Make a Donation