Dædalus 152:4: Mental Health

We are all vulnerable to emotional distress. COVID-19 made as much clear, subjecting many of us to the prolonged pain of isolation, loneliness, job and housing insecurity, and grief. The pandemic increased the prevalence of mental disorders, especially among the young, and worsened the substance use epidemic. And it exposed the inadequacy of our fractured, profit-driven mental health care too many people cannot access treatment, and too many with access do not receive effective care. But the pandemic had another effect. By increasing attention on mental health issues, it has reduced some of the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness. It has enabled us, if temporarily, to express our inner struggles more openly. The authors of the Fall 2023 issue of Dædalus view this moment as an opportunity to fundamentally transform our mental health systems. Drawing from psychiatry, neuroscience, public health, public policy, genetics, and social science, the authors identify the tensions, breakthroughs, and gaps in our understanding of mental health. And they develop a social medicine perspective to envision new models of care. This perspective recognizes the social and historical determinants of mental health; reduces the overmedicalization of mental disorders; helps identify which treatments will be effective for which patients; and employs the resources available in every community to help address the mental health crisis.