Governing failed neoliberal subjects: Representations of women’s mental health in Australian mental health policies

Governing failed neoliberal subjects: Representations of women’s mental health in Australian mental health policies

This paper uses Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) framework to explore representations of women’s mental health in federal and South Australian mental health policies. It argues that mental health policies govern women through neoliberal discourses that individualise menta...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Qualitative social work : QSW : research and practice
Main Authors: O'Connor, Caitlin Angela, Zufferey, Carole, de Anstiss, Helena
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 22-12-2023
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract This paper uses Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) framework to explore representations of women’s mental health in federal and South Australian mental health policies. It argues that mental health policies govern women through neoliberal discourses that individualise mental health and illness while neglecting the social structural factors which significantly influence mental health outcomes and health equity. In a ‘self-monitoring’ neoliberal society, people are increasingly required to seek medical and pharmaceutical intervention to promote ideal personhoods, with women overrepresented in this group. The disciplinary power of the medicalisation discourse categorises women as either ideal or failed neoliberal subjects. This is concerning for social workers because neoliberal and medicalisation discourses shape how women’s mental health is represented in policy and responded to in practice. This paper challenges biomedical and neoliberal discourses underpinning policy representations and identifies the implications for social work and social policy.
AbstractList This paper uses Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) framework to explore representations of women’s mental health in federal and South Australian mental health policies. It argues that mental health policies govern women through neoliberal discourses that individualise mental health and illness while neglecting the social structural factors which significantly influence mental health outcomes and health equity. In a ‘self-monitoring’ neoliberal society, people are increasingly required to seek medical and pharmaceutical intervention to promote ideal personhoods, with women overrepresented in this group. The disciplinary power of the medicalisation discourse categorises women as either ideal or failed neoliberal subjects. This is concerning for social workers because neoliberal and medicalisation discourses shape how women’s mental health is represented in policy and responded to in practice. This paper challenges biomedical and neoliberal discourses underpinning policy representations and identifies the implications for social work and social policy.
Author de Anstiss, Helena
O'Connor, Caitlin Angela
Zufferey, Carole
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Caitlin Angela
  surname: O'Connor
  fullname: O'Connor, Caitlin Angela
  organization: Department of Justice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
– sequence: 2
  givenname: Carole
  orcidid: 0000-0001-9610-7168
  surname: Zufferey
  fullname: Zufferey, Carole
  organization: Department of Justice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
– sequence: 3
  givenname: Helena
  surname: de Anstiss
  fullname: de Anstiss, Helena
  organization: Department of Justice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
BookMark eNplkEFOwzAURC1UJNrCAdj5AgF_O4kTdlUFBakSEoJ1ZJtv6iqxKzsBseMaXI-TkAhWsPqj_2ZmMQsy88EjIefALgCkvIRcCsELxgVwzhlnR2QOModMjHg26pFnk-GELFLaM8ahrPI5GTbhFaN3_oVa5Vp8ph5D6zRG1dI06D2aPl3RBzxETOh71bvgEw2WvoUO_dfHZ6Ld9G_pDlXb76jzdDWkfsw75f-ww1htHKZTcmxVm_Ds9y7J08314_o2295v7tarbWagln1WlFLrHBBNIWooclaXIK3BkoMBgywvbVXawlrkWqsKasGwYrpidQUFciaWBH56TQwpRbTNIbpOxfcGWDPt1vzbTXwDWp1kwQ
Cites_doi 10.1017/UPO9780987171856.004
10.1080/19371918.2015.1087918
10.1080/15332985.2021.2017387
10.1093/sw/swz007
10.1111/ap.12367
10.1192/S1749367600004987
10.3384/cu.2000.1525.146223
10.1057/978-1-137-52546-8
10.1017/CBO9780511581649
10.1177/14733250211025086
10.1177/0011392107073299
10.1002/jhbs.10108
10.1177/1473325020979050
10.1177/0886109919836825
10.1177/0959353512467968
10.1177/0886109919891959
10.2753/JEI0021-3624440227
10.1177/1077801220921937
10.1080/15313204.2013.785337
10.1111/ap.12299
10.3138/9781442619708
10.1177/0261018319897374
10.1177/0020872808093339
10.4324/9781315399584-23
10.1177/1440783316662717
10.1046/j.0312-407x.2003.00091.x
10.1177/14733250221131598
10.1177/1024529418813833
10.1007/s10903-016-0402-6
10.1002/j.1839-4655.2011.tb00213.x
10.1080/0312407X.2013.829510
10.1177/0263276413506944
10.1177/0959354318797194
10.1071/AH15028
10.1080/01596300050005493
ContentType Journal Article
DBID AAYXX
CITATION
DOI 10.1177/14733250231222020
DatabaseName CrossRef
DatabaseTitle CrossRef
DatabaseTitleList CrossRef
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Social Welfare & Social Work
EISSN 1741-3117
ExternalDocumentID 10_1177_14733250231222020
GroupedDBID .2L
01A
0R~
123
1~K
29P
31W
31X
4.4
54M
56W
5VS
AABOD
AADIR
AAJPV
AATAA
AAWTL
AAYXX
ABAWP
ABCCA
ABFXH
ABHQH
ABIVO
ABPNF
ABQPY
ABQXT
ABTDE
ACDXX
ACFUR
ACFZE
ACGFS
ACHQT
ACJER
ACLZU
ACOXC
ACROE
ACSIQ
ACTQU
ACUIR
ADRRZ
ADTOS
AEDXQ
AESZF
AEUHG
AEUIJ
AEVPJ
AEWDL
AEWHI
AFKRG
AFMOU
AFQAA
AGDVU
AGKLV
AGNWV
AGWNL
AHWHD
AIOMO
AJUZI
ALFTD
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
ANDLU
ARTOV
AUTPY
AUVAJ
AYPQM
AZFZN
B8T
B8Z
BDZRT
BMVBW
BPACV
BYIEH
CITATION
CS3
DG~
DV7
DV8
EBS
FHBDP
GROUPED_SAGE_PREMIER_JOURNAL_COLLECTION
H13
HF~
HZ~
J8X
JCYGO
M4V
N9A
O9-
P.B
P2P
Q7P
ROL
S01
SCNPE
SFC
SFK
SFT
SGU
SGV
SHB
SPJ
SPP
SSDHQ
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c197t-567bb41eec53915409617fce621c1ce046f86f5ffe2bba81930e80b809815e203
ISSN 1473-3250
IngestDate Wed Oct 23 14:25:18 EDT 2024
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Language English
LinkModel OpenURL
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c197t-567bb41eec53915409617fce621c1ce046f86f5ffe2bba81930e80b809815e203
ORCID 0000-0001-9610-7168
ParticipantIDs crossref_primary_10_1177_14733250231222020
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2023-12-22
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2023-12-22
PublicationDate_xml – month: 12
  year: 2023
  text: 2023-12-22
  day: 22
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationTitle Qualitative social work : QSW : research and practice
PublicationYear 2023
References bibr51-14733250231222020
Foucault M (bibr23-14733250231222020) 2003
Government of South Australia (bibr29-14733250231222020) 2021
bibr6-14733250231222020
bibr49-14733250231222020
Vaismoradi M (bibr57-14733250231222020) 2019; 20
bibr24-14733250231222020
bibr31-14733250231222020
bibr11-14733250231222020
Commonwealth of Australia (bibr18-14733250231222020) 2021
McNay L (bibr35-14733250231222020) 1997
Government of South Australia (bibr28-14733250231222020) 2017
bibr32-14733250231222020
Summers A (bibr54-14733250231222020) 1975
bibr52-14733250231222020
bibr45-14733250231222020
bibr48-14733250231222020
bibr58-14733250231222020
McWade B (bibr36-14733250231222020) 2016; 5
bibr7-14733250231222020
bibr1-14733250231222020
bibr27-14733250231222020
bibr30-14733250231222020
bibr20-14733250231222020
bibr56-14733250231222020
bibr40-14733250231222020
bibr47-14733250231222020
bibr50-14733250231222020
Danaher G (bibr21-14733250231222020) 2000
Weedon C (bibr59-14733250231222020) 1997
Commonwealth of Australia (bibr15-14733250231222020) 2017
bibr19-14733250231222020
bibr3-14733250231222020
Neuman LW (bibr44-14733250231222020) 2011
bibr41-14733250231222020
Commonwealth of Australia (bibr17-14733250231222020) 2020
bibr61-14733250231222020
bibr9-14733250231222020
bibr39-14733250231222020
bibr34-14733250231222020
Deacon B (bibr22-14733250231222020) 2015; 38
Bacchi C (bibr5-14733250231222020) 2009
Brady A (bibr10-14733250231222020) 2010
bibr42-14733250231222020
Beck U (bibr8-14733250231222020) 1992
bibr38-14733250231222020
bibr25-14733250231222020
bibr55-14733250231222020
Goffman I (bibr26-14733250231222020) 1963
bibr62-14733250231222020
Commonwealth of Australia (bibr14-14733250231222020) 2009
bibr63-14733250231222020
Moncrieff J (bibr37-14733250231222020) 2008
bibr4-14733250231222020
bibr43-14733250231222020
Commonwealth of Australia (bibr16-14733250231222020) 2020
O’Reilly A (bibr46-14733250231222020) 2020
bibr53-14733250231222020
bibr33-14733250231222020
bibr13-14733250231222020
Weedon C (bibr60-14733250231222020) 1999
Butler J (bibr12-14733250231222020) 2006
Australian Association of Social Workers (bibr2-14733250231222020) 2020
References_xml – ident: bibr3-14733250231222020
– ident: bibr27-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1017/UPO9780987171856.004
– volume-title: Feminism, Theory and the Politics of Difference
  year: 1999
  ident: bibr60-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Weedon C
– ident: bibr1-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1080/19371918.2015.1087918
– volume: 38
  start-page: 231
  year: 2015
  ident: bibr22-14733250231222020
  publication-title: The Behavior Therapist
  contributor:
    fullname: Deacon B
– ident: bibr42-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1080/15332985.2021.2017387
– ident: bibr48-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1093/sw/swz007
– ident: bibr43-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1111/ap.12367
– volume: 5
  start-page: 62
  issue: 3
  year: 2016
  ident: bibr36-14733250231222020
  publication-title: Intersectionalities: A Global Journal of Social Work Analysis, Research, Policy, and Practice
  contributor:
    fullname: McWade B
– start-page: 27
  volume-title: Understanding Judith Butler
  year: 2010
  ident: bibr10-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Brady A
– ident: bibr49-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1192/S1749367600004987
– ident: bibr34-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.3384/cu.2000.1525.146223
– ident: bibr7-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1057/978-1-137-52546-8
– ident: bibr52-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1017/CBO9780511581649
– ident: bibr53-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/14733250211025086
– volume-title: Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
  year: 1963
  ident: bibr26-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Goffman I
– volume-title: Women’s, Child and Youth Health Plan 2021-2031: Summary Framework for Consultation
  year: 2021
  ident: bibr29-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Government of South Australia
– start-page: 235
  volume-title: Liberatory Psychiatry: Philosophy, Politics and Mental Health
  year: 2008
  ident: bibr37-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Moncrieff J
– volume-title: National Suicide Prevention Adviser – Final Advice
  year: 2021
  ident: bibr18-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Commonwealth of Australia
– volume-title: Damned Whores and God’s Police. The Colonisation of Women in Australia
  year: 1975
  ident: bibr54-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Summers A
– ident: bibr32-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0011392107073299
– ident: bibr45-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1002/jhbs.10108
– volume-title: The Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Plan
  year: 2017
  ident: bibr15-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Commonwealth of Australia
– ident: bibr62-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/1473325020979050
– ident: bibr11-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0886109919836825
– ident: bibr56-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0959353512467968
– ident: bibr19-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0886109919891959
– volume-title: Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
  year: 2011
  ident: bibr44-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Neuman LW
– start-page: 15
  volume-title: Intersections of Mothering
  year: 2020
  ident: bibr46-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: O’Reilly A
– volume-title: Productivity Commission Inquiry Report Volume 1 Mental Health
  year: 2020
  ident: bibr17-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Commonwealth of Australia
– start-page: 82
  volume-title: Understanding Foucault
  year: 2000
  ident: bibr21-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Danaher G
– volume-title: Feminist Practice and Poststructuralist Theory
  year: 1997
  ident: bibr59-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Weedon C
– volume-title: Analysing Policy: What’s the Problem Represented to Be?
  year: 2009
  ident: bibr5-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Bacchi C
– ident: bibr31-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.2753/JEI0021-3624440227
– ident: bibr40-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/1077801220921937
– ident: bibr47-14733250231222020
– volume-title: Risk Society
  year: 1992
  ident: bibr8-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Beck U
– ident: bibr25-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1080/15313204.2013.785337
– ident: bibr13-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1111/ap.12299
– volume-title: National Mental Health Policy
  year: 2009
  ident: bibr14-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Commonwealth of Australia
– ident: bibr38-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.3138/9781442619708
– ident: bibr6-14733250231222020
– volume-title: Gender Trouble
  year: 2006
  ident: bibr12-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Butler J
– ident: bibr33-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0261018319897374
– ident: bibr61-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0020872808093339
– volume-title: The Birth of the Clinic; an Archaeology of Medical Perception
  year: 2003
  ident: bibr23-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Foucault M
– ident: bibr55-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.4324/9781315399584-23
– ident: bibr58-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/1440783316662717
– volume-title: Code of Ethics
  year: 2020
  ident: bibr2-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Australian Association of Social Workers
– ident: bibr9-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1046/j.0312-407x.2003.00091.x
– ident: bibr41-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/14733250221131598
– volume: 20
  start-page: 2
  issue: 3
  year: 2019
  ident: bibr57-14733250231222020
  publication-title: Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research
  contributor:
    fullname: Vaismoradi M
– volume-title: Foucault and Feminism: Power, Gender and the Self
  year: 1997
  ident: bibr35-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: McNay L
– ident: bibr39-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/1024529418813833
– ident: bibr63-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1007/s10903-016-0402-6
– ident: bibr30-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1002/j.1839-4655.2011.tb00213.x
– ident: bibr20-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1080/0312407X.2013.829510
– ident: bibr24-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0263276413506944
– ident: bibr51-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1177/0959354318797194
– volume-title: National Mental Health and Wellbeing Pandemic Response Plan
  year: 2020
  ident: bibr16-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Commonwealth of Australia
– volume-title: Mental Health Services Plan (2020-2025)
  year: 2017
  ident: bibr28-14733250231222020
  contributor:
    fullname: Government of South Australia
– ident: bibr50-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1071/AH15028
– ident: bibr4-14733250231222020
  doi: 10.1080/01596300050005493
SSID ssj0021684
Score 2.3367157
Snippet This paper uses Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ (WPR) framework to explore representations of women’s mental health in federal and South...
SourceID crossref
SourceType Aggregation Database
Title Governing failed neoliberal subjects: Representations of women’s mental health in Australian mental health policies
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
link http://sdu.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwtV1LT9tAEF4l4cIFQQuCFtAeqh6KjHb93HBDkIoTahsQLZdod7MrQOBESXzg1r_Rv8cvYfbhB46Q4NCLY63tlZX57Jkdf_MNQl9insaEaxYk6RgWKDxLAgZ-LyCck4SBy5C2jvtsmJ3_ZqeDeNDplB3E6rH_amkYA1ubytl3WLuaFAZgH2wOW7A6bN9kd9c81_IjOTzx44NcTSyHxBSGFMKkXTwLblpXHjkunFVjKNkP_fnBQ7NUspUYeXnMtHqQJR3xrqnO4XTFfWbekMBsDuLn8Mr-eqmhGy9X4Aq22jyciS9VhFnNPRgWbuVLrgvb3-Wx4q5UV4-N4Aq8v1xTeOtdeTPFEUaGLhI2sp40zqIgCp1C7aFyYxAKgQNxhZ_LfiBzSgJZZC6DGBbCIBKS2umVH_pbvrBiKFIvg740RRethPBOS3po5fjXj-GfanVPU9veurpX_wndqHstTdIIghrRzMU6WvPLEHzs8LOBOir_gHZdrTa-UveazxT-issBsNtHVFTQwg5auIYWLqF1hFvAwhONLbCe_v6bYwcb7GCDb3NcQ6p1rITUJrr8Prg4OQt8145A0n62gIc-EyKmSsnENB-ITU-hTEuVhlRSqUicapbqBNARCsEhII2IYkQw0mc0USGJtlAvn-RqG2FY-4K70JrLPkShlIkkFSl4RUmUgHW43kHfyr9xNHXiLKNXDffpPSd_Rqs1EHdRbzEr1B7qzsfFvrf7M9qwgkU
link.rule.ids 315,782,786,27935,27936
linkProvider SAGE Publications
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Governing+failed+neoliberal+subjects%3A+Representations+of+women%E2%80%99s+mental+health+in+Australian+mental+health+policies&rft.jtitle=Qualitative+social+work+%3A+QSW+%3A+research+and+practice&rft.au=O%27Connor%2C+Caitlin+Angela&rft.au=Zufferey%2C+Carole&rft.au=de+Anstiss%2C+Helena&rft.date=2023-12-22&rft.issn=1473-3250&rft.eissn=1741-3117&rft_id=info:doi/10.1177%2F14733250231222020&rft.externalDBID=n%2Fa&rft.externalDocID=10_1177_14733250231222020
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=1473-3250&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=1473-3250&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=1473-3250&client=summon