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Experts Challenge DSM: Mental Health Needs Collective Wellness

2/10/2025

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Summary

Story summary

A new article in American Psychologist challenges the DSM's focus on individual distress, highlighting how it overlooks systemic issues like capitalism and colonialism. Scholars Kaori Wada and Karlee D. Fellner assert that psychiatric diagnoses reinforce colonial oppression of Indigenous peoples. They advocate for viewing symptoms as urgent calls for collective wellness, urging a shift in mental health care's role in society.

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Story summary

A new article in American Psychologist challenges the DSM's focus on individual distress, highlighting how it overlooks systemic issues like capitalism and colonialism. Scholars Kaori Wada and Karlee D. Fellner assert that psychiatric diagnoses reinforce colonial oppression of Indigenous peoples. They advocate for viewing symptoms as urgent calls for collective wellness, urging a shift in mental health care's role in society.