Mental wellbeing in the Anthropocene: Socio-ecological approaches to capability enhancement

Abstract

There is growing recognition that "human development" frameworks, such as the Capabilities Approach (CA) with its emphasis on the promotion of justice, offer promise for guiding efforts aimed at enhancing mental wellbeing. This article explores challenges that might arise when there is a need to arbitrate among the competing demands of different parties in their efforts to enhance capabilities. Particular tensions can arise when the efforts of particular individuals to enhance their capabilities exert pressure on scarce resources, or threaten the safety and security of people living in precarious environmental contexts. Consideration is given to the need for "an ethos of restraint" to balance the consumption of resources aimed at facilitating human development on the one hand, with the need to promote environmental justice on the other. The paper highlights research that has investigated how environmental factors can impact on mental wellbeing, including rapid urbanization, climate change related issues (such as weather systems, drought, food insecurity and rising sea-levels), and access to "green/blue spaces". As such, the paper explores the important links that can exist between people and the ecosystems in which they live (including the way in which particular cultural beliefs and practices of indigenous groups can be tethered to the land). Elinor Ostrom's "design principles", derived from her work investigating the sustainable use of pooled resources, are presented as a helpful means of assisting members of communities to negotiate and apply "functioning constraints", which can promote environmental justice whilst not compromising efforts aimed at promoting mental wellbeing.

Global Mental Health: Interdisciplinary challenges for a field in motion

“…In addition to the conventional social determinants identified in public health, global mental health is increasingly influenced by the accelerating destabilization of the planetary ecosystem under the conditions of catastrophic climate change (Whitmee et al, 2015). Ross White (2020), in this issue, asks what it would mean to promote mental wellbeing and Amartya Sen's (1990) capability approach under the conditions of the Anthropocene and the constraints required to ensure environmental justice. White explores how the effects of climate change, including rapid urbanization, drought, food insecurity, rising sea-levels, and limited access to ''green/blue spaces'', will affect mental wellbeing.…”

“…This special issue of Transcultural Psychiatry provides a snapshot of current interdisciplinary work that reflects the complexity and ongoing evolution of GMH. The authors reflect on the histories and colonial legacies of violence inscribed in mental suffering and programming (Capella, Jadhav, & Moncrieff, 2020;Hickling, 2020;Ortega & Wenceslau, 2020), on current models of culturally responsive intervention and implementation (Bustamante Ugarte et al, 2020;Hatcher et al, 2020;Honikman, Field, & Cooper, 2020;Mascayano et al, 2020;Shehadeh et al, 2020;Verhey et al, 2020) and on the challenges to mental well-being from the impending conditions of catastrophic climate change (White, 2020). Another set of contributions challenge established narratives on psychological suffering and trauma after war (Medeiros, Nanicha Shrestha, Gaire, & Orr, 2020), natural disaster (Newnham et al, 2020), and cultural practices of female genital cutting (Omigbodun, 2020).…”

Environmental Education: Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples in Western Siberia

“…The consequences of these changes can be much more painful and complicated than they seem to be [2,3]. Some environmental issues, such as biological or geological, are deeply rooted in various dimensions of the political agenda, social behavior, cultural values, and mental health [4,5]. Unraveling the complex connections between nature and society, some scholars have emphasized the necessity to change the prevailing system of unsustainable practices and underlying relationships, social norms, and values in order to overcome the environmental crisis [6][7][8].…”

Older Public Housing Tenants’ Capabilities for Physical Activity Described Using Walk-Along Interviews in Montreal, Canada

“…This work is important since older public housing tenants are seldomly represented in health promotion literature [ 38 , 39 , 40 ] despite being “underserved” [ 41 ] and presenting low indices of health [ 15 , 42 , 43 ]. The capability approach is a promising avenue to gain a better understanding of the health behaviors in older age [ 44 ] and is well-suited to socioecological models of health and wellbeing [ 45 ].…”