ERIC Number: EJ1067871
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-8756-8225
EISSN: N/A
Reframing the Conversation on College Student Mental Health
Rosenbaum, Philip J.; Liebert, Heather
Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, v29 n3 p179-196 2015
The expression "mental health" has become ubiquitous when discussing college students' lived experiences. While effective, this expression has not, problematically, been deconstructed. In this article, we explore what "mental health" means. Through doing so we identify three unintended effects embedded within its usage: (a) symptoms should be relieved and not understood as meaningful; (b) health refers to objective functioning alone; and (c) expert authority should be emphasized at the cost of local communities. Accordingly, we argue for the importance of resisting the unreflective usage of this term and creating spaces to reframe the conversations, which engages complexity, subjective meaning, and ambiguity.
Descriptors: College Students, Mental Health, Symptoms (Individual Disorders), Mental Disorders, Counseling Services, Academic Achievement, Campuses, Power Structure
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A