Paper Short Abstract:

This paper argues that, in certain contexts in contemporary Iran, psychotherapy becomes a transformative locus that extends beyond individual healing, incorporating social critique as a fundamental element of psychotherapeutic practice.

Paper Abstract:

This paper argues that, in certain contexts in contemporary Iran, psychotherapy becomes a transformative locus that extends beyond individual healing, incorporating social critique as a fundamental element of psychotherapeutic practice. Building upon interviews with Iranian mental health practitioners active online and in person, this paper posits that psychotherapy and one-on-one interaction of individuals and the psychotherapist has also become a fundamental space for social criticism in Iran. For instance, some practitioners refer to the milieu and context that creates illness, anxiety, and distress, and criticize the individualistic approaches they practice and foster in their praxis. A practitioner and mental health activist observes, for example: “our patient enters our office from an unhealthy society . Leaving our office an hour or forty-five minutes later, she immediately re-enters an unhealthy society.” While underscoring the disconnect between therapeutic performance and the societal context to which patients return, he problematizes the broader effectiveness of psychotherapy within societal instability and institutional hurdles. Another interlocutor discusses the role of cultural, educational, familial, and societal influences in shaping idealistic aspirations of success and a lack of critical thinking. She emphasizes that psychotherapeutic methods facilitate filling the void left by these institutions. This paper explicates the reconceptualization of psychotherapy in which it is located as a critical tool for traversing and restructuring the intricate interplay between the personal and the social in the quest for wellbeing in an ill-disposed context.