Happiness and mental health policy: A sociological critique

Abstract

Background: This paper briefly outlines the work of economist Richard Layard and his proposed policy solutions to increase happiness within society. Layard's work is influencing policy and has particular relevance for mental health policy and service development. Aims: The focus of the paper lies in a critique of Layard's work in three areas. The first is that Layard's approach does little to tackle the structural inequalities within society, which are known to be prime indicators of mental ill health. The second critique is that Layard's proposals form a misguided attempt to use therapy as a way of compensating for a breakdown in community. The third and related critique is that Layard's proposals suggest a medicalization of social issues in ways that individualize social problems. The paper ends with a reflection upon broader questions not addressed within Layard's analysis. Conclusions: The paper concludes that Layard's proposal, though in many respects attractive, may have fundamental flaws and these are open to sociological analysis and critique.

Sociological Conceptions of Happiness and its Implications for Psychotherapy and Public Policy

“…It is, however, ironic that their identity may then become attached to its own social exclusion because it is attached to social exclusion for its very existence as identity [29]. Building on the argument above some commentators have concluded that psychological therapies are themselves problematic [7,29] and while we would agree with this in relation CBT; we would argue that those psychological therapies developed from an existential and humanistic theoretical framework offer exactly the forms of help that are needed. Rather than an illness ideology which is subject to the criticisms outlined above, these therapies need to offer a different paradigmatic view of what it is to be human, how distress arises and how it is best dealt with [31].…”

“…As Shaw and Taplin report [7] these proposals initially met with mixed and critical reaction but were then endorsed and enacted by Government. The main critique of this paper is that such strong a commitment to expanding CBT and other evidence based psychological approaches individualises wider social issues.…”

“…Failure to compete successfully and the absence of friendship networks can lead to an experience of being socially denigrated or humiliated and endangers the identity of human beings. This is leading to demands for `the right to be esteemed and recognised', particularly for those feeling vulnerable in such a society [7].…”

“…It encourages the establishment of suffering as a measure of social virtue. That is why, with a decline of friendship networks, it has become common for some people to define themselves through a psychological or medical diagnosis [7,29].…”

An Economy for the 99%: It’s time to build a human economy that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few

“…224 From feminist economics, which recognizes that justice, sustainability and care are of central importance, 225 to ecological economics, which has long recognized the interdependence of human economic and natural eco-systems and the need to value natural capital, to the ground-breaking work of Amartya Sen,226 being, 229 and in what most people, when they have the chance to stop and think, believe really matters. 230 …”