Diagnostic Cultures (Classical and Contemporary Social Theory)

Book info: Diagnostic Cultures (Classical and Contemporary Social Theory) (Hardcover, 164 pages) – Routledge, 2016. Language: English.

Some studies estimate that each year, around a quarter of the population of Western countries will suffer from at least one mental disorder. Should this be interpreted as evidence for the progress of psychiatry, a discipline that is now able to identify and treat mental illnesses that have always existed, or might it be the case that modern life somehow creates new conditions, or social pathologies? This book argues that in fact something more fundamental has been taking place in recent years: the development of diagnostic cultures. Taking account of the phenomenon of patients themselves 'pushing for' pathologization - and acknowledging therefore that this is not simply a case of psychiatry pursuing an agenda of 'medicalisation from above' - this volume examines the emerging trend towards interpreting our sufferings in terms of psychiatric conceptions and diagnostic categories. Drawing on new empirical case studies of psychological diagnoses, including depression and ADHD, and employing both cultural-psychological and sociological analyses, it charts the development of contemporary diagnostic cultures and asks whether, in transforming existential, moral and political concerns into individual psychiatric disorders, we risk losing sight of the larger historical and social forces that affect our lives. A ground-breaking examination of the shift towards the pathologization of suffering and the dangers that this presents to human self-understanding, Diagnostic Cultures will be of interest to scholars of social theory and philosophy, the sociology of culture, psychology and the sociology health and medicine.

Editorial Reviews Review

"A captivating analysis of the ways that use of medical diagnoses to categorize human behavior has altered our inner experience and our everyday social lives." - Donald R. Marks and Larissa Redziniak in PsycCRITIQUES (2016)

’Svend Brinkmann's Diagnostic Cultures convincingly challenges explanations that attribute the huge recent rise of mental disorders to either actual social changes or the growing ability of mental health professionals to identify pathology. Instead, it presents an innovative and imaginative explanation for the expansion of mental disorder that is grounded in changing diagnostic practices among both professionals and patients. The book deserves a wide readership among everyone with an interest in mental illness and social processes.’ Allan V. Horwitz, Rutgers University, USA ’This book presents both a challenge to and an extension of perspectives on medicalization. Grounded in sophisticated cultural psychological and theoretical works, Diagnostic Cultures challenges us to rethink the context of the increasing pathologization of human conditions. Along the way, Svend Brinkmann sheds new light on the social dimensions of diagnosis as well.’ Peter Conrad, Brandeis University, USA About the Author

Svend Brinkmann is Professor of Psychology and Qualitative Methods and Co-director of the Center for Qualitative Studies at Aalborg University, Denmark. He is the author of Qualitative Inquiry in Everyday Life: Working with Everyday Life Materials, Qualitative Interviewing and Psychology as a Moral Science: Perspectives on Normativity, and the co-author of InterViews (Third Edition): Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing.