Struggle and Solidarity

The context in which an individual is born, grows, lives, and works has a profound impact on their mental health—this is beyond doubt. What is often less clear is how to affect these social determinants of mental health in actionable ways.

Struggle and Solidarity addresses this gap in a compelling manner. It presents seven key pieces of federal legislation and demonstrates how public policies—even when not explicitly mental health–related—can shape social determinants and improve mental health.

Taking a case study approach, the authors of the book describe the historical, sociopolitical, and economic contexts for the laws, how the laws came into being, and why they are important, while still making rigorous arguments about the connections between these national policies and mental health.

In sharing these real-world examples of how individuals and groups have successfully advocated for policy changes, the authors of this volume illustrate how important advocacy work can be accomplished and inspire readers to get involved in similar work to improve mental health today and in the future.