Mental Health Discourse and Radical Alternatives in 2025 Cultural Landscape
In 2025, the discourse surrounding mental health significantly influenced both culture and politics. UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting raised concerns about the overdiagnosis of conditions, while Richard Tice from Reform UK criticized the surge in ADHD diagnoses amid lengthy NHS waiting times. Historian Dagmar Herzog highlighted similar sentiments from RFK Jr. in the US and Germany's AfD in her essay 'The New Fascist Body.' Cultural elements included Lewis Capaldi's contribution to BetterHelp, which provided free support during the Israel-Palestine conflict. Therapy applications like SilverCloud and Daylight featured CBT chatbots, while radical alternatives such as The Red Clinic and Albatross Clinic emerged. Notable publications included works by Stephen Frosh and Samah Jabr, alongside cultural outputs like Lynne Ramsay's 'Die My Love' and Rosalía's 'LUX,' connecting mental health with geopolitical matters.
Key facts
- UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting argued overdiagnosis of mental health conditions in 2025.
- Reform UK deputy Richard Tice claimed too many children receive ADHD diagnoses despite NHS backlogs.
- Historian Dagmar Herzog's 2025 essay 'The New Fascist Body' analyzed anti-disability positions of Germany's AfD.
- Singer Lewis Capaldi partnered with BetterHelp, an online therapy platform founded by an Israeli entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.
- Therapy apps SilverCloud and Daylight offer CBT chatbots, with SilverCloud acquired by Amwell in 2021.
- Elizabeth Cotton's book 'UberTherapy: The New Business of Mental Health' critiques datafication of mental healthcare.
- Radical psychotherapy initiatives in 2025 included The Red Clinic, Albatross Clinic, and Parapraxis magazine.
- An exhibition in Paris featured art by patients from the hospital where Frantz Fanon worked in Algeria.
Entities
Artists
- Lewis Capaldi
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Rosalía
- Steve Coogan
- Lynne Ramsay
- Orna Guralnik
- Frantz Fanon
- Marion Milner
- Stephen Frosh
- Florent Gabarron-Garcia
- Samah Jabr
- Akshi Singh
- Francesc Tosquelles
- Joelle M. Abi-Rached
- Dagmar Herzog
- Peter Sedgwick
- Enoch Powell
- J.M.W. Turner
- Bella Freud
- Sigmund Freud
- Elizabeth Cotton
- Eoin Fullam
- Joana Masó
Institutions
- NHS
- BetterHelp
- SilverCloud
- Daylight
- Sleepio
- Amwell
- Big Health
- The Red Clinic
- Albatross Clinic
- Parapraxis magazine
- Psychosocial Foundation
- Wirklichkeit Books
- Reform UK
- AfD
- ArtReview
- New Labour
- Conservative
- IDF
- Government of Israel
Locations
- UK
- United Kingdom
- US
- United States
- Germany
- Israel
- Palestine
- Gaza
- Silicon Valley
- Paris
- France
- Algeria
- Buenos Aires
- Argentina
- Berlin
- Huntingdon
- Ireland
- Catalonia