Exploring the Moral and Therapeutic Significance of Indifference

A talk by Dr Yuxin Peng (Faculty of History, University of Oxford) 

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSMs), the word ‘indifference’ is often used to describe emotional and social disengagement or the lack of self-concern and sensory reactions. The psychiatric diagnoses that frame the ill conditions cast indifference as part of the symptoms against therapeutic achievements. Today most community mental health organisations in England work alongside this assessment. Their case studies of recovery are often about individuals who are not indifferent – those who actively engage with the service and demonstrate increasing awareness and persistent efforts to improve their conditions. The reporting of these cases is possibly due to the pressure to demonstrate outcomes according to the funders’ emphasis on the medical models.  

This talk does not aim to overturn the mainstream assessment of mental health recovery. However, it discusses the moral and therapeutic significance of some exceptional circumstances - often more common than the celebrated cases of service engagement. Based on my fieldwork at Restore, an Oxfordshire mental health charity, I look at service users who were not always engaging with the recovery activities or group interactions. I suggest that these examples present diverse perceptions and effects of indifference, showing that it is not always opposed to mental health improvements. I then propose extending the evidence that may validate therapeutic effectiveness in community mental health evaluations.  

Commentator: Dr Lovro Savic (Ethox Centre, University of Oxford) 

If you have any questions please contact Dr Alberto Giubilini via email on alberto.giubilini@uehiro.ox.ac.uk​​​