Critical thinking stop point 12.1

Possible answer to: Do you think mental illness is a brain disease? 

Mental health nurses do not need to be philosophers but they do need to appreciate that there is a problem with the relationship between mind and brain. Think about whether your thoughts, feelings and behaviour are due to your brain. Why should these biological processes be any different, or not, for someone seen as mentally ill? 

The chapter goes on to address issues of brain and mind, particularly the fallacy of only thinking about mental distress in terms of brain dysfunction. This grapples with what we actually mean by a concept such as the mind. We all have a mind, and it is our minds that enable us to tackle such deep questions, but the workings and products of our minds are seemingly ephemeral and appear distinct from our bodies. Yet, biological psychiatry can reduce all of the complexity of mind to consideration of brain. Duncan Double, the author of the chapter is an active member of the Critical Psychiatry Network and blogger. He makes a persuasive argument that we would be better advised to think about what we understand as mental illness in terms of brain–mind integration.