Re-locating the sociology of mental health and illness

Abstract

In the second half of the 20th century, sociological analysis has been particularly influential in promoting awareness in two areas--the social patterning of mental "disorders" and the consequences of institutionalization. The papers in this special section are an eclectic and rich collection which draws on a range of theoretical perspectives and policy concerns. Four of the papers started life as papers presented at the first annual seminar of the Sociology of Mental Health Study Group of the British Sociological Association's Medical Sociology Group. Contributions from within primary care medicine, psychiatry and psychology have provided illuminating ways of exploring psycho-social distress in its social context by emphasizing the relevance of using historical analysis, understandings of social processes, social theory and a close attention to the personal accounts of people with mental health problems.