Sociology and epistemology of mental health and child care

In collaboration with Champ social

Care and mental health professionals are confronted daily with the difficulties encountered by children and the very young. Yet epidemiological studies and observations in the field reveal that their number and the severity of their symptoms are spreading more and more every day.

Neither the steady rise in psychotropic drug prescriptions, nor the development of prevention policies, reimbursements for psychotherapy sessions, public health agency programs or school-based schemes seem to be able to halt this deterioration.

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How can we understand and grasp this phenomenon? How can it be contained? Is this simply the result of a lack of resources, or does it call for a rethink of the very concept of mental disorders and the functioning of the human psyche? What can we learn from randomized controlled trials, from new approaches to semiology and psychopathology, and from work in sociology and philosophy of mind?

The question is: how can we tackle this problem?

We invite you to explore these questions further with Xavier Briffault, researcher in the social sciences and epistemology of mental health at CERMES3 (CRNS), co-director of the book The Silence of Symptoms. Enquête sur la santé mentale et le soin des enfants (Champ social, 2023).