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London Jesuit Centre
A major theme in Pope Francis’ teachings is the need to go out and meet the people on the margins of society. Yet, by virtue of their marginalisation, it is often difficult to do so. Moreover, many organizations that work with marginalised groups (Catholic or otherwise) are led by people from outside that group, who,due to their greater enfranchisement in society, are more likely to have the skills and means required to establish and run those organizations relative to the communities they serve.
This module aims to forefront the voices of people who belong to marginalised groups, and who work with marginalised groups as members of those groups. Each session will be led by a guest speaker from a user-led organization, who will talk about the situation of, and challenges faced by, their respective group in society today.
Speakers on this course are discussing issues that are not only important but deeply personal to them. It is only fair that we listen to them in return, so if you sign up to the course please attend as many sessions as possible.
Week 4
Mental Health Distress
People who have or do experience mental health distress (National Survivor User Network)
Mental health distress is often an obstacle for people in a society that is not constructed to accommodate it, serving as an obstacle to employment, a source of stigma, and a practical barrier to participation in public life. Additionally, the medicalisation of mental health distress leads to issues around agency, such as deprivation of liberties, and general attitudes which doubt the agency of those who experience it. Finally, mental health as a concept is bound up in issues of race and gender, serving as the foundation for a medicalised discourse which has historically been used to circumvent the agency of marginalised groups, and pathologise forms of resistance.
NSUN is “a network of individuals with experience of mental distress and grassroots, user-led community groups, acting as an infrastructure organisation and a sector voice for user-led or lived-experience-led groups who work to support the mental health of those in their communities”. They “work to address the social, material and cultural determinants of mental distress and recognise that the inequality, marginalisation, and the conditions of society and systems play a large part in people’s experiences of mental ill-health, trauma, and distress”.
Notes
p leadership and open up spaces for relational, organised participation of migrants and refugees in public life”, and were featured on Netflix’s Chelsea in 2017.
Dr Nicolete Burbach is the Social and Environmental Justice Lead at the London Jesuit Centre. Her PhD thesis looked at Pope Francis’ hermeneutics of uncertainty, and her research focuses on resourcing Pope Francis to think through issues of alienation and disagreement, with a particular focus on navigating the difficulties around trans inclusion in the Church. Previously, she has taught modules on postmodern theology and Catholic Social Teaching, both at Durham University.
