The Essence of Social Psychiatry

On the occasion of WASP’s 60th anniversary, I believe that establishing a paradigm that focuses on the social determinants of health as an essential part of social psychiatry is important to effectively address the complex challenges of mental health and mental health care. Social psychiatry is a field of study that focuses on the social dimension of mental health, mental illness, and mental health care. It draws on concepts and methods from social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology.[1] A social perspective on psychiatry requires research to focus on persons, their families, and the community, rather than on the individual in isolation from his or her social context. There are factors that have a strong influence on health, and these are the conditions in which we are born and live, our age, influenced by race, gender, and ethnicity, where people live, educational status, income, food, the type of work we do and its circumstances, and migration status, among many other factors known as the social determinants of health.[2] A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in May 2022 found that mental healthcare needs significant change.[3] According to the research, there has been “no significant improvement” in mental health care over the past 20 years. It suggests that the socioeconomic and community context of the individual needs to be addressed to make progress. Argentina currently has a National Mental Health Act, adopted in 2010, and a National Mental Health Plan for 2023–2027. Both aim to integrate the social and community approach. However, there are still major challenges to the effective implementation of this model.[4] The impact of social determinants of health is undeniable and must be addressed to prevent unjust and unnecessary inequalities. Despite the progress and the recognition of mental health in the world, and in Argentina in particular, there are still barriers to the inclusion of the social level, which underlines the urgency of implementing without delay the model of social determinants of health in mental health, the essence of social psychiatry, as a transformative tool for the mental health and mental health care of persons, their families, and the community. “The time for action is now, not just because better health makes economic sense, but because it is right and just. The outcry against inequity has been intensifying for many years from country to country around the world. These cries are forming a global movement”[2] Marmot M, 2007.