Normality in Mental Health

About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about how normality has been classified over time, in the context of mental health, focusing in particular on: (i) how the DSM-V classifies a mental health disorder; (ii) how definitions and treatment proposals for different characteristics and conditions have changed over time, using the example of Alan Turing as someone who was subjected to hormone ‘treatment’ because he was homosexual, something that is suspected to have contributed to his suicide; (iii) the debate on whether clinically classifying variations in traits like attention span does more harm or good to the recipients and others.

About the lecturer

Dr Marc Williams is a senior academic tutor and honorary senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at Cardiff University. His university work centres around the doctoral programme in clinical psychology, including supervising doctoral theses and supporting trainees. Dr Williams’ research interests include eating disorders and people’s relationship with their environment. Some of Dr Williams' recent publications include 'Attentional bias in eating disorders: a meta review' (2021) and 'The relationship between climate change and mental health information-seeking: a preliminary investigation' (2020).