Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health Therapy in the Age of Abandonment: A Conversation with Psychological Anthropologist Talia Weiner
Sep 3, 2025
Talia Weiner, a psychological anthropologist and assistant professor, dives deep into the interconnectedness of social forces and mental health care. She discusses the unrealistic self-management expectations placed on individuals with bipolar disorder and the impact of political structures on mental health practices. Weiner contrasts community mental health with private psychoanalysis, advocating for integration of community support. She also highlights the necessity of structural competency in therapy and explores the role of AI in enhancing therapeutic practices.
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From Support Groups To Clinic Occupation
- Talia joined a mood-disorder support group and observed members practicing a model called self-management.
- She also joined a grassroots Mental Health Coalition that occupied a clinic slated for closure and experienced activism firsthand.
Self-Management As Ideological Project
- Self-management began as a chronic-disease model and migrated into psychiatric care as disorders were biomedicalized.
- The model morally individualizes responsibility while obscuring social networks and structural constraints.
How Self-Management Paradoxically Fails
- Practicing strict self-management can expose its impossibility by forcing people to constantly doubt their own moods and intentions.
- Therapists also perform narrative self-management to neutralize guilt about moving from agency work to private practice.
