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Intersectionality and Discrimination in Mental Health Care

Guest Editors:
Mirjam Faissner: LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
Anne-Sophie Gaillard: Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
Amma Yeboah: Specialist and Senior Consultant in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Germany
Jakov Gather: LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
Georg Juckel: LWL University Hospital, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany

Submission Status: Closed   |   Submission Deadline: Closed


Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine is calling for submissions to our Collection on Intersectionality and Discriminatory Practices Within Mental Health Care. 

Discriminatory practices within mental health care based on structural systems of oppression, such as racism, oppression of gender and sexual diversity and classism, are a barrier to social and health care justice. They thus constitute a pressing ethical, legal and social concern.

Intersectionality has emerged as a concept, method, framework, and tool to both analyze and resist structures of oppression. As an analytical tool within critical knowledge projects, it centers the complexity, interdependency, and co-constitution of overlapping systems of oppression. As a practice, intersectionality may be used to inform projects that aim to achieve social justice. Originally developed by Black Feminist grassroot activists, the concept has been welcomed in academic research and has travelled across different disciplines. Intersectionality, both as an analytical and practical tool, faces numerous challenges which we aim to explore. With this call, we aim to gather existing knowledge to bring intersectionality more into practice within mental health care.

To understand the multifaceted and complex structure of oppression and to explore the use of intersectionality as a tool to address structural discrimination, we invite researchers from philosophy, health sciences, social sciences, legal sciences and disability, gender and critical race studies to contribute their perspective to this collection.

About the collection

TOPICS OF INTEREST:

• Theory, Philosophy and Ethics of Intersectionality and Discrimination

⁃ Concept and philosophy of intersectionality
⁃ Concept and philosophy of discrimination
⁃ Approaches to intersectional (bio-)medical ethics
⁃ Development of intersectionality across different disciplines and its use within mental health care
⁃ Philosophy of social categories and social structures and their role in mental health care

• Intersectionality and Discriminatory

⁃ Practices within Mental Health Care
⁃ Systems of oppression such as racism, (hetero)sexism, ableism, classism, ageism, transphobia, fatphobia, and their role for mental health (care)
⁃ Intersectionality, stigma and mental health 
⁃ Methodological approaches to use intersectionality in quantitative and qualitative research within mental health research

• A Human Rights Perspective on Intersectionality

⁃ Intersectionality and anti-discrimination legislation 
⁃ Anti-discrimination, intersectionality and the CRPD
⁃ Philosophy of human rights, focus mental health

• Intersectionality as Practice Within Mental Health Care

⁃ Strategies of anti-discrimination within mental health care
⁃ Intersectionality as a practice: Intersectionality in psychiatry, counselling, social work, nursing, and therapy
⁃ Legal strategies to reduce structural discrimination

Image credit: © Anastasia Usenko / Getty images / iStock

  2. Inequities shape the everyday experiences and life chances of individuals at the margins of societies and are often associated with lower health and particular challenges in accessing quality treatment and sup...

    Authors: Florian Funer
    Citation: Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2023 18:21
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles, Data Notes, Case Reports, Study Protocols, and Database Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Intersectionality and Discriminatory Practices Within Mental Health Care" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.