What does mental health mean to you?

Is there an intersectional definition of mental health? Can we define mental health with diversity at the forefront? How do we apply an intersectional definition of mental health in practice?

Defining mental health and wellbeing

Mental health and/or wellness describe our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. The World Health Organisation recognises mental health as a lens through which we view ourselves, our ability to cope with the challenges presented in life, work productively, and contribute to the community. While the expression of mental health may vary globally, the core concept remains constant: it is fundamental to living a fulfilling life. In this blog, we delve into a nuanced definition of mental health that acknowledges the diversity of the human experience.

Mental health through the lens of diversity

A diverse and nuanced definition of mental health recognises intersectionality. This refers to how various interconnected social identities like race, gender, sexual orientation, ability and socio-economic background, can shape a person’s experiences and needs. This nuanced definition of mental health also incorporates the role of community, family, and spirituality in the healing and mental wellness process.

As previously mentioned, mental health is a state of balance within ourselves and with the environment. This balance looks and feels different across social identities as it is influenced by societal values, traditions, and beliefs.

For example, some cultures revere the experience of hearing voices and regard these as a spiritual or ancestral connection.

In this example, the person’s experiences are recognised through a lens of interconnecting their cultural ideologies and mind, body, and spirit.

Cultural responsiveness as a method to expand our definition of mental health

Understanding mental health from an intersectional lens leads to cultural responsiveness. Cultural responsiveness is the ability to embrace differences in experiences. This includes effectively adapting your understanding, respect and interaction with people who have diverse cultural experiences. The simplified and practical application of being culturally responsive includes:

• Recognising your own biases and beliefs.
• Being open to understanding and valuing the diverse ways people express and manage their mental health and/or well-being.
• Recognising each culture’s inherent strengths and resources to contribute to mental well-being.
• Support systems adapting to meet the needs of diverse populations. This could include language accessibility, cultural competence among providers and culturally specific resources.

How to apply intersectionality and cultural responsiveness in real-life

Using the earlier example, perhaps you may have different beliefs from someone who believes that people hearing voices indicates a spiritual connection. How would you respond? A possible approach is to converse with genuine respect and openness. Perhaps you could ask open-ended questions if they consent to further dialogue.  In this approach, you can exchange ideologies with mutual humility, openness, respect and curiosity.

Takeaways

A call for intersectionality in conversations and support

With this nuanced, intersectional understanding of mental health and cultural responsivity, we can not only acknowledge diverse experiences, but we can embrace them. We challenge you to commit to an ongoing process of being open and humble to learn about diverse social identities and experiences. Drawing from the African philosophy of Ubuntu (the interconnectedness of people), we challenge you to try these approaches:

• Share your definition of mental health/wellness with others.
• Have more open dialogue with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Adopt an intersectional definition when reflecting on mental health.

Until next time,

Tracy