Containing, thinking and public health

Abstract

This paper argues that the capacity of individuals and of society as a whole to ‘contain’ experience, and to use this as a basis for thought, is central to good health. The paper first defines and describes ‘containing’ and thinking, with reference to a psychoanalytic model, and compares these definitions with similar concepts. The circumstances that promote or impede the development of the capacity for thought are then outlined, and a spectrum of this capacity is described and correlated with a spectrum of vulnerability‐resilience to ill health. A review of the associated literature indicates significant links to health‐related behaviours, health outcomes and inequalities; interventions at a population level could aim to shift people at the vulnerable end of the spectrum towards resilience. However such measures are unlikely to be effective on their own: what is needed is a containing and thinking society, characterised by a wish to know about reality, and to link together information about the state of its citizens and the wider world. The paper concludes with a discussion of the political and policy‐making implications.

Citation

Cohen, M. (2007), "Containing, thinking and public health", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 40-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465729200700019