238 Timothy J. Beck and Jacob W. Glazier
violent imperial conquest (van Voren, 2010). Research on this problematic
history of psychiatric practice was a major force in the creation of
liberation psychology, perhaps most notably the work of Ignacio Martín-
Baró (1996). While more recent research in critical psychology, like China
Mill’s (2014) recent book, seeks to outline conditions for decolonial
approaches to thinking through mental health, illness, and disorder in the
twenty-first century.
According to a popular introduction to psychology textbook written by
Richard Griggs (2012), abnormalities related to mental suffering are
generally defined by psychologists and psychiatrists through a combination
of the following four criteria: statistical infrequency, maladaptivity, the
presence of distress, and irrationality. In other words, “we are suffering
from a disorder only if our reactions to life’s challenges become atypical,
maladaptive, disturbing to ourselves or others, and irrational” (p. 367),
according to the information gathered during the therapeutic intake. The
specific combination of criteria used in any given case, however, depends
upon both the unique lived conditions of the person seeking treatment and
the theoretical perspective of the professional making the diagnosis
(Parnas, 2015). While those receiving services contribute to this process to
the extent that they interact with professionals, the distribution of power in
how clinical decisions are made remains unavoidably lopsided—especially
when it involves children. Whether or not a behavior is irrational or
atypical, for instance, depends in turn upon what is considered rational or
typical within the social contexts discussed during therapy. This is also true
in terms of what might be considered disturbing to others or ourselves.
Such norms and customs will of course differ depending on a broad range
of sociocultural and economic values. This renders mental health care a set
of social practices in which the cultures and identities of those involved are
interwoven through networks ranging from governments and organizations
to more abstract colonial relations connecting capitalism to social power,
for instance.
Such practices are supported by a growing reliance on standardized
diagnostic instruments and manuals. The two authoritative texts used to
diagnose abnormal psychological conditions are the Diagnostic and