Neoliberalism and mental health education

Abstract

In 2017, the Departments of Health and Education in the United Kingdom initiated a national mental health agenda that includes new curriculum interventions and mandatory training courses for teachers. While the stated goal is to support children and young people with mental health difficulties, there are deeper economic and political forces driving these policy decisions. Both the underlying socio-structural causes of mental health problems and the conception of schools as ‘optimal’ sites for mental health support can be understood adequately only against the backdrop of neoliberalism. To make my case, I focus specifically on the ‘Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health Provision’, which discusses public feedback on the proposed initiative. An examination of this response reveals that the initiative contributes to the responsibilisation of young people and their families, neglects underlying economic sources of distress and ignores how neoliberalism fosters mindsets and social orientations that contribute to widespread anxiety and depression.