The Routledge Handbook of Language, Discourse and Mental Health

The Routledge Handbook of Language, Discourse and Mental Health showcases the multiplicity of theoretical approaches, debates, themes, and evidence-based insights toward advancing knowledge at the intersection of language and mental health.

Featuring 38 chapters spanning disciplinary perspectives, the volume synthesizes work which foregrounds language and discourse as central to understanding mental health and enables further inquiry into their relationship with mental health in different contexts. The first part explores varied methodological approaches, including qualitative, corpus-based, and computational approaches. The second part examines how mental health problems are constructed and understood through historical, diagnostic, cultural, and public discourses. Part three offers critical discussions of the role of language in shaping mental health identities, stigma, representation, and public understanding. Part four provides insights into language in clinical settings, with case studies from a range of contexts. The final section focuses on language, migration, and mental health, giving voice to the experiences of refugees, asylum-seeking individuals, migrants, and multilingual families, while considering how language practices can facilitate more culturally and linguistically responsive mental health care.

This handbook is an essential resource for students, scholars, and practitioners across fields including linguistics, discourse analysis, discursive psychology, health communication, counselling, psychotherapy, and mental health.