Declaration of Interdependence: A Social Psychiatric Connection to the 4th of July

Psychiatry & Society

H. Steven Moffic, MD, discusses some of the social psychiatry connections to the Declaration of Independence, in honor of the upcoming 4th of July holiday and next year being the 250th anniversary of the founding document. He poses a similar type of declaration for the field, with a social psychiatric declaration of interdependence: in addition to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, we should also attend to “lives, freedom of our minds, pursuits of mental health, and decrease of mental illness.”

With this social psychiatry edition of such a declarative document, Moffic places focus on the plural nature of the items he adds, reminding that we are dependent on one another. Simply, “the essence of our wellbeing is social,” he maintains.

Freedom of mind in this case is defined as freedom from the mind being overly influenced by outside forces. Yet, Moffic points out, there is a negative potential for interdependence, as seen in cult groups. He references author Jon Atack’s work on cult followings, and Atack’s interviews with Dr Moffic can be found on his podcast, “Jon Atack, Family, and Friends.”

The element of “pursuits of wellbeing” points to the essence of work in psychiatry: helping patients recover from mental disorders enhances their freedom of mind and individual wellbeing. Particularly with positive psychiatry, Moffic highlights his goal for psychiatrists this year is to broaden the approach to focus on positive psychiatry and emphasize interdependence, along with how it can supplement independence.

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.