Sociology and social psychiatry

Abstract

AbstractSociology is described as a discipline that studies societies and the societal factors in which people are born, live, work, play, and age. This forms a crucial component of social psychiatry from basic observation of social and societal behaviours to recognizing and understanding social norms and mores. This discipline helps us understand the broader relationship of society and social factors with mental illnesses and well-being. The impact of social factors on the biological and psychological factors in clinical presentations cannot be underestimated. Recognition of illness behaviours and help-seeking are important aspects of therapeutic engagement. In this chapter, essential parts of sociology are covered in relation to social psychiatry. The aim is to describe illness and the sick role, challenges in biomedicine, interactionist perspectives, labelling theory, and psychiatry’s social contract.