Mental health and crime from a communications perspective

Have recent trends in mental health and criminal justice led to an increasing tendency to view violence from a psychopathological perspective?

Michael Vicaro, assistant professor of communications at Greater Allegheny, and co-author David Seitz, assistant professor of communications at Mont Alto, contend that approaching gun violence as a mental health issue has other consequences. For example, it leads to public policy proposals that focus on limiting access to guns by people identified as having mental health issues rather than limiting the availability of weapons in general.

The authors also assert that the new trend may interfere with the traditional therapeutic relationship and emphasize threat assessment and risk management over healing.

Vicaro and Seitz's article, "Guns, crime, and dangerous minds: Assessing the mental health turn in gun policy discourse," was recently published in the journal Cultural Studies <=> Critical Methodologies.