ABSTRACT
In Canada (as elsewhere), poor mental health among postsecondary students is increasingly considered an urgent social problem. What is meant by mental health frequently remains implicit, and shared understandings are assumed. However, empirical examination of student mental health discourse reveals heterogeneous meanings, each associated with distinctive responses. Are mental health problems neurological disorders to be medicated? Are they psychic deficiencies to be corrected via self-improvement techniques? Perhaps they are not problems per se but differences to be celebrated and accommodated. In this chapter I draw upon interviews with Canadian university students, as well as online media and university documents, to articulate three discourses of student mental health – biomedical, therapeutic, and recognition-based – and explore associated resources, critiques, and tensions. Rather than denounce or acclaim any single discourse, I suggest that students are best served by epistemic diversity and pluralistic approaches to problem-solving as they navigate ambiguous emotional distress in their lives.
