NEOLIBERAL POLICIES
– deregulation of economy
– privatization of public institutions
– individuals are self-entrepreneurs
IMPLICIT ASSUMPTIONS OF NEOLIBERALISM
– productivity and success are the highest values
– individual problems are due to failures of social adaptation
– individuals must ‘optimize’ in order to achieve success
‘SOCIAL HEALTH’ UNDER NEOLIBERALISM
– growing social inequality
– growing social insecurity
– social atomization, loneliness
WHAT IS ‘MENTAL HEALTH’ UNDER NEOLIBERALISM?
– shifting of social health problems onto individuals
– commodification of ‘mental health’ into consumer products
– use of ‘therapy speak’ as cultural capital
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH AS A MEASURE OF SOCIAL DISTRESS
– young people are susceptible to mimicry and strong identifications
– cultural models of perfection generate feelings of inadequacy
– ‘mental health’ becomes a search for optimization
SEE ALSO:
Mental Health Is Political
Teen Influencers as Social Media Psychiatrists
‘That’s triggering!’ Is therapy-speak changing the way we talk about ourselves?