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Women with Mental Illness: A Psychosocial Perspective

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Gender and Mental Health

Abstract

Ethnographic research and studies of psychiatric morbidity elaborates on the role of social context as well as the gendered dimensions of social and psychological distress. Women across cultures have been experiencing significant degree of violations, social exclusion and discrimination in various forms like denial of economic resources, education, legal and health services, poor physical and mental nurturance, exhaustion from overwork or sexual and other forms of physical and mental abuse across their life span. There is a direct interlinkage of women’s mental health and the multifaceted social, political and economic issues. Women are more predisposed to mental disorders due to rapid social changes, gender discrimination, social exclusion and gender disadvantage in relation to men. Consideration of women’s mental health therefore requires recognition of the impact of social factors on mental health, a position that challenges traditional biomedical approaches to mental illness. The current paper elucidates the significance of understanding women’s mental health and the underlying psychosocial contributory factors towards mental illness. Citing evidence from few case vignettes based on author’s professional experience, the paper dwells on the challenges and ordeals faced by women with mental illness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatric Social Work, Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi, India

    Saswati Chakraborti

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  1. Saswati Chakraborti
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Correspondence to Saswati Chakraborti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India

    Meenu Anand

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Chakraborti, S. (2020). Women with Mental Illness: A Psychosocial Perspective. In: Anand, M. (eds) Gender and Mental Health. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-5393-6_3

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