Paradigm Shifts in the Theory and Praxis of Mental Health Counseling

Introduction

Despite the fact that stress is a silent killer of the 21st century, the causes and impacts persist and get aggravated in the globalized society. Gender discrimination, gender division of labor, gender role perceptions and gender-based violence prevalent in various forms and extents throughout the globe add to women’s stress and negatively implicate their happiness and well-being. Engendering health thus occupies a central point when we talk about women empowerment and gender mainstreaming. The engendering efforts often focus on physical health of women, especially maternal/reproductive health. Mental health of women is an area that is not given serious attention in developing countries like that of India. To facilitate women’s active agency in development, appropriate support mechanisms to ensure their mental health are required. Here comes the relevance of this chapter that calls for paradigm shifts in the theory and praxis of mental health.

Mental Health and holistic wellbeing have received the focused attention of psychologists and those engaged in the study of human nature right from the beginning. The last two decades have witnessed an exponential growth in mental disorders of all types, all over the world. Studies across the world have shown that mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are more common among women. Database generated by many sources, including the WHO, comprises appalling statistics on women’s deteriorating mental health. The gender disadvantage and physiological factors might add up to this vulnerability of women. Socio cultural factors varying from discriminatory socialization practices, denial of opportunities for higher education and employment, lack of property rights, decision making power, gender- based violence etc. all add up to the challenges of girls and women. Lack of gender sensitivity of medical practitioners, sociologists and mental health counselors result in overlooking the socio-cultural factors most often. Though the Bio psychosocial model is well accepted by mental health practitioners, its essence does not reflect in the practices.

Mental health is the normal state of wellbeing and defined as conditions and levels of social functioning which are socially acceptable and personally satisfying. There is no single authentic or certified definition of mental health. There are several misconceptions where mental health is equated with lack of mental illness. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories affect the way mental health is defined. The World Health Organization defines mental health as a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her abilities, copes up with the normal stresses of life, works productively and fruitfully, and makes contributions to his/ her community. Different psychologists have emphasized different aspects of mental health in their definitions. According to Hadfield (1950), mental health is the full and harmonious functioning of the whole personality. Bernard (1961) writes (a) mental health involves continuous adjusting rather than a static condition and is, therefore, an ever- shifting progressive goal. It is an ability to cope up with the present and in all likelihood to adjust satisfactorily in the future too. (b) Mental health involves a point of view one takes through all phases of one’s living. The White House Conference in its Preliminary Report,1930 defines mental health as “the adjustment of individuals to themselves and the world at large with a maximum of effectiveness, satisfaction, cheerfulness and socially considerate behavior and the ability to face and accept the realities of life”.