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Accepted Paper:
“Psychotherapy is a luxury care”: psychotherapy, the way forward to social mobility in contemporary Iran
Zahra Abbasi
The image of the happy individual that is promoted on social media by celebrities is one which, among many other practices, regularly visits a therapist. I will be discussing the dynamics of mental health literacy in contexts where it becomes or is accused of becoming a conspicuous consumption.
Paper long abstract:
Based on the online and offline ethnography carried out in settings populated by Iranians, the image of the happy and rationale individual that is being promoted on social media by celebrities is one which, among many other practices, regularly visits a therapist. With the rise in popularity of psychotherapist celebrities, having a therapist and being able to pay for the sessions opens up the possibility of making a distinct identity which has entree to the knowledge and assets aimed at bettering her social class. Nevertheless, the characteristics of this class is not homogeneous hence divers. In this paper, I will be discussing the changing aspects of mental health literacy and mental health hygiene in contemporary Iran by seeing this practice in contexts which grows into or is accused of becoming a conspicuous consumption. “My therapist has advised me” has occasionally been seen equivalent to “I have a personal lawyer and I consult with her for the most trivial of affairs”, thus as social capital. However, this must not be a generalization of the population of people who seek therapy; more clearly to study the sociocultural understanding of the practice of seeking help in different strata of contemporary Iran and vicissitudes that it has undergone in terms of accessibility of information on social media and the possibilities that psychotherapy can bring or not. How are these discourses on mental health in Iran and its relation to identity being debated and problematized in this context?