Silence, distance and neutrality: the politics of emotional distress during the Northern Irish troubles.

During the Troubles (1968–1998), the mental healthcare profession surprisingly paid little attention to conflict-related psychological distress, despite Northern Irish citizens being embroiled in a protracted, emotionally damaging conflict. Only a small number of independent researchers spoke out to...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Social History Vol. 46; no. 4; pp. 435 - 459
Autor principal: Miller, Ian
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Nov 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=153296764&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: hlh
    uiTerm: 153296764
    longDbName: Humanities International Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        03071022
        SOH
      jtl: Social History
      issn: 03071022
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: Nov 2021
      vid: 46
      iid: 4
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
    artinfo:
      ui:
        153296764
        10.1080/03071022.2021.1967641
      ppf: 435
      ppct: 24
      formats:
        fmt:
          – @attributes:
              type: T
          – @attributes:
              type: P
              size: 352KB
      tig:
        atl: Silence, distance and neutrality: the politics of emotional distress during the Northern Irish troubles.
      aug:
        au: Miller, Ian
        affil: Ulster University
      su:
        History of Northern Ireland, 1968-1998
        Northern Ireland politics & government, 1969-1994
        History of Northern Ireland
        Historical trauma
        Emotional trauma
      sug:
        subj:
          History of Northern Ireland, 1968-1998
          Northern Ireland politics & government, 1969-1994
          History of Northern Ireland
          Historical trauma
          Emotional trauma
      keyword:
        emotions
        Ireland
        Northern Ireland
        psychology
        Rona Fields
      ab: During the Troubles (1968–1998), the mental healthcare profession surprisingly paid little attention to conflict-related psychological distress, despite Northern Irish citizens being embroiled in a protracted, emotionally damaging conflict. Only a small number of independent researchers spoke out to insist that conflict was causing widespread emotional disorder. While some mental health professionals have retrospectively ascribed this situation to a limited contemporary knowledge of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder before the 1980s, this article argues that strategies of 'silence', 'distancing' and maintaining 'neutrality' framed the activities of Northern Irish researchers. In the 1970s, social psychologist Rona Fields controversially claimed that the British government was pursuing 'psychological genocide', deeply politicizing claims of emotional disturbance. Largely in response, Northern Irish mental healthcare researchers produced research that actively avoided political debate. Instead, they publicly concluded that local communities were coping well with conflict, a suggestion that clashes with present-day claims of historical trauma. Overall, the article reveals how Troubles-period research agendas were guided first and foremost by sociopolitical exigencies rather than clinical need and desires to depoliticize psychological distress and separate mental healthcare from politics.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: Y
      custom: Copyright of Social History is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
      item: Social History
      holder: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      dt:
        @attributes:
          year: 2021
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N