Dialectics of Mind, Body, and Place

Steve Kusan

doi:10.1177/2158244013512131

Abstract

This article presents results from an exploratory study of what college students from northern Ontario think about and do to manage their mental health. Data gathered in semistructured interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The purpose of the study is to advance our understanding of the ontogeny, substantive nature and deployment of mental health literacy (MHL). MHL has hitherto been defined as “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders that aid their recognition, management or prevention.”. This definition effectively translates to knowledge of the contents of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, currently in its fifth edition. Results of the study suggest that the current definition of MHL is overly narrow, that individuals use knowledge of various types from various sources to manage their mental health, and that the literacies that inform mental health management practices are developed through iterative engagement in autologous knowledge-translation, at the core of which are cultured resonance, meaning-making, metacognitive evaluation, and heuristic experimentation. MHL is redefined as the self-generated and acquired knowledge with which people negotiate their mental health. Broadening the definition of MHL has potential to enhance the capacity of individuals and communities to manage mental health effectively.

Highlights

The success of health literacy enhancement campaigns in Canada and other countries has given rise to a proliferation of initiatives intended to improve the level of mental health literacy (MHL) among general populations (Francis, Pirkis, Dunt, Blood, & Davis, 2002; Pape & Galipeault, 2002)
Memos taken during the interviews and subsequent line-byline analysis of the transcripts significantly contributed to the coding of data
Results from this study indicate that the current definition of MHL is overly narrow and that individuals use knowledge of various types from various sources to manage their mental health

Summary

Introduction

The success of health literacy enhancement campaigns in Canada and other countries has given rise to a proliferation of initiatives intended to improve the level of mental health literacy (MHL) among general populations (Francis, Pirkis, Dunt, Blood, & Davis, 2002; Pape & Galipeault, 2002). That is to say that as a literature solely concerned with illness, the DSM does not account for the health-oriented literacies (e.g., resilience strategies, salutogenic principles, self-regulatory techniques, etc.) that individuals use to protect, promote, or recover their mental health. The inattention to these literacies is owing to the logical positivist ideal and the predisposition of its subscribers to define mental health as the absence of mental illness. This dichotomous and still dominant view of mental health has profoundly influenced mental health policy, research, and practice, and in no small measure has narrowly defined the public consciousness as to the workings and possibilities of the mind (Kusan, 2011)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion