Mental Health as a Social and Political Issue

We talk and hear about mental health more than ever – and that's a positive development. However, what is typically overlooked when discussing mental health?

We know from experience how work stress, competition, loneliness, financial worries, and experiences of violence and discrimination negatively affect our well-being and can make us ill. These are not just personal problems; they're societal ones, too. Thus we shouldn't only discuss these in a psychologist's office - we should talk about them openly.

In this Saturday's discussion, we'll move beyond the individualized biomedical perspective and discuss how mental health is related to social and political issues. We will consider alternative, solidarity-based approaches to mental health, recovery, and prevention. Ultimately, we will look for ways to politically mobilize on the issue of mental health and articulate common goals and political demands that reflect the systemic factors of mental health.

We will consider specialist perspectives, everyday experiences, and activist approaches. The panelists are: psychotherapist Paulius Garmus (UK), mental health activist Elena Gasiulytė (LT), and psychologist Marivi Bauer (DE). The discussion will be moderated by Monika Višnevska. The panel will be in English.

PROGRAMME 2023