Interdisciplinairy Approaches to the Understanding of Mental Disease and Disorder

In 2017 a Centre for Sociological research on Psychiatry (CSP) was formed by the presenters. The centre laid ground for an interdisciplinary network of Danish researchers from psychiatry, neuroscience, sociology, pedagogy, linguistics, anthropology and social work studies with the aim of developing an approach to psychiatric issues which were in accordance with the different disciplinary approaches to understanding human interaction and social conditions. The network involves 25 dedicated researchers from the different disciplines.

The presentation will focus on the epistemological challenges when trying to synthesise different perspectives, different relations to practice and different terminologies into a mutual understanding of the social factors which influence the pathogenesis and aetiology of mental illness. It will take its point of departure in the experiences from the initial discussions on the network seminars and present some of the possible solutions to the challenge. These solutions involve considering and rephrasing our approaches to mental vulnerability, stigma and social as well as biological heritage and it challenges the categorical diagnostic systems as well as our understanding of social and communicative interaction.