Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-tn8tq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-18T10:14:48.167Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - Mental Health and ‘Be Happy’ Psychology

from Part II - Rethinking Behavior in the Larger World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 October 2022

Fathali M. Moghaddam
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
Get access

Summary

The causal-reductionist model has resulted in a classification system and set of treatments for mental health that assumes people are self-contained individuals, operating independent of context. Despite the good efforts of community psychology and a number of progressive therapists, as well as the historic meaage of the anti-psychiatry movement, the powerful role of social class and particularly poverty on mental health is disregarded. This is epitomized by the positive psychology movement, the focus on individual happiness (independent of context), and the development of a 'happiness index' which regards progress as being independent of GDP and other material measures. In essence, 'positive thinking' and 'be happy psychology' is proposed as a solution. But even positive psychologists have been forced to admit that the probablity of mental health problems increases as we move down the social classes, so that poverty is a powerful context leading to a higher probability of individuals suffering mental health problems.

Type
Chapter
Information
How Psychologists Failed
We Neglected the Poor and Minorities, Favored the Rich and Privileged, and Got Science Wrong
, pp. 105 - 118
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×