As part of our third year Independent Study module, students complete a series of popular science articles, addressing topical issues from an anthropological perspective. This week, our featured article is by Cerys Savinkina. Cerys’s bio: I am a third-year anthropology student with both Welsh and Ukrainian heritage. I have a variety of interests, with dietary Read More…
Category: psychology
James Davies’ new book ‘Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created our Mental Health Crisis’
James Davies’ new book Sedated has just been released with Atlantic Books. In Britain alone, more than 20% of the adult population take a psychiatric drug in any one year. This is an increase of over 500% since 1980 and the numbers continue to grow. Yet, despite this prescription epidemic, levels of mental illness of Read More…
CRESIDA webinar by Dr Derek Summerfield on the globalisation of western mental health
On 18 November 2020, Dr Derek Summerfield from the Institute of Psychiatry presented a webinar in the CRESIDA seminar series titled ‘Globalising Western ‘mental health’: psychiatry, spirits, ancestors and poverty. Case studies from UK, Zimbabwe, Cambodia’. Abstract The ongoing globalisation of Western psychiatry and psychology trades on universalistic assumptions about ‘mind’. These are at odds Read More…
Culture, Madness and Medicalisation: A history of madness before psychiatry
In our third year Culture, ‘Madness’ and Medicalisation module, students receive a critical introduction to today’s dominant psychological/clinical practices such as psychoanalysis, bio-psychiatry, psychotherapy, counselling and clinical psychology and the importance of anthropology in illuminating how psychological/clinical practices are dramatically shaping contemporary subjectivities and wider socio/cultural life. This year, our featured essay from the module is Read More…
Big pharma’s placebo problem
By James Davies Reprinted from Cracked: The Unhappy Truth About Psychiatry by James Davies. Copyright Pegasus Books © 2013 In May 1993, a mental disorder that had been in the DSM-III was repackaged, renamed, and given new life in DSM-IV. It was called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder and was listed in the DSM as a mental disorder. Up Read More…
Culture, ‘Madness’ & Medicalisation: Social and biological perspectives on the rise of ADHD in children in the UK
In our third year Culture, ‘Madness’ and Medicalisation module, students receive a critical introduction to today’s dominant psychological/clinical practices such as psychoanalysis, bio-psychiatry, psychotherapy, counselling and clinical psychology and the importance of anthropology in illuminating how psychological/clinical practices are dramatically shaping contemporary subjectivities and wider socio/cultural life. This year, our featured essay from the module is Read More…
