What are the social determinants of mental health?

Social, economic, and environmental factors that influence mental health, shaped by socio-political and cultural context, for example inequality, social exclusion, socioeconomic status, housing, educational attainment, community deprivation, and discrimination (WHO, 2014).

Methodology

  • Qualitative systematic review
  • Search terms: "social determinants of mental health" and terms relating to "therapy" or "counselling"
  • Search for existing literature on 5 databases: PsycInfo, ASSIA, CINAHL Plus, Science Direct, and Web of Science
  • Quality assessment using QuADS (Harrison et al., 2021)
  • Thematic synthesis used to analyse eligible studies (Thomas & Harden, 2008)

Views expressed in this article are the views of the writer and not necessarily the views of BACP. Publication does not imply endorsement of the writer’s views. Reasonable care has been taken to avoid errors but no liability will be accepted for any errors that may occur.