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Journal of Sociology
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Analysing the politics of self-help books on depression

Brigid Philip

School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, b.philip{at}pgrad.unimelb.edu.au

This article provides a Foucauldian analysis of the politics of self-help books on depression, via a case study of David Burns's top-selling and clinically recommended book Feeling Good — The New Mood Therapy. The article draws on the governmentality literature inspired by Foucault's work, particularly Nikolas Rose's analysis of psychological expertise as a technology of liberal government. The aim is to understand how and to what effects self-help texts construct truths about depression. The central argument is that psychological expertise is arranged in Feeling Good to confer truthfulness, technical authority and ethical legitimacy upon the self-help advice, and to encourage readers to regulate their conduct according to liberal virtues. This has the effect of stifling debate about depression, disavowing the socio-political context in which individuals become depressed, and promoting a model of `active citizenship' that limits how individuality can be expressed.

Key Words: depression • Foucault • governmentality • liberalism • mental health • psychology • self-help • subjectivity

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 45, No. 2, 151-168 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783309103343
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