Voicework and The Disarticulation of Young People's Mental Health Needs

Bibliographic Data

ID3698490
AuthorsR Jones Mcvey (0000-0003-2313-4258, University of Exeter, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume12
Issue2
Pages1-31
Publication date2025-06-13
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMedicine Anthropology Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2405-691X • E-ISSN: 2405-691X
PublisherUniversity of Edinburgh (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.17157/mat.12.2.9432
OpenAlexW4411378462
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited22

This article is about anthropological research ethics amid the simultaneous hyper-valuation of young people's voices and the disarticulation (the process of making inarticulate) of their mental health needs. I reflect on my experience of recording a podcast about mental health treatment with young people in a moral context where 'voicework' was prominent. Following feminist critiques of 'voice' and 'choice', I argue that critical concerns usually associated with 'giving voice'-authenticity and empowerment-are limiting as means of ethically relating to needs, since they presume personhood rests on coherence, intentionality and articulate expression. Instead, I resolve to adopt a research ethics that focuses on articulating needs, rather than platforming voices. This account urges researchers-myself included-to do better in confronting the non-responsiveness of care systems

Disarticulation · Mental health · Psychiatry · Medicine · Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics · Gerontology

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