1.5 Conscientisation and Liberation Psychology: Freire and Martin-Baró "[T]he more radical the person is, the more fully he or she enters into reality so that, knowing it better, he or she can transform it. This individual is not afraid to confront, to listen, and to see the world unveiled. This person is not afraid to meet the people or to enter into a dialogue with them. This person does not consider himself or herself the proprietor of history or of all people, or the liberator of the oppressed; but he or she does commit himself or herself, within history, to fight at their side" (Freire, 1971). 1.5.1 Freire Another important theoretical and ideological input into the present research comes from the tradition of liberation psychology, and particularly from the perspectives of Freire and Martin-Baró. In Marx’s view the proletariat (citizen) is oppressed via class systems and the power of capitalism leads to exploitation (Mayo, 2004). It is the proletariat who need to displace and revolutionise this system. Martin-Baró’s (1996) liberation psychology was developed from Marx’s theory, while Freire and other theorists developed the idea of conscientisation; becoming involved in consciousness-raising to challenge personal and social oppression and to engender social change (Parker, 2007). For Freire, society does not consist of autonomous individuals with no social consciousness. Instead, people are capable of working collaboratively together with a social consciousness towards liberation within oppressive structures. The aim is to have a society characterised by solidarity, pro-action, and engagement in critical thinking (Freire, 1973). Freirean pedagogy advocates that the oppressed should work side-by-side to challenge and raise awareness by generating new knowledge to transform their social reality.
P1:”and consider myself as a practising artist of stigma and I’m just leaving because I’m not coping very well with it…” R:”I’m sorry to hear that” P1:”I it’s nice to see, em, somebody else expressing themselves literally and I can totally relate to…to some of the work” P1:”And both of us were just saying, in terms of me when I went to my GP and stuff like, they were very quick to rush you out, and I don’t think its tailored in terms of, as not once has anybody said anything about this exists (the charity/art events) to me either in a sense of me coming in and being part of it or in a sense of me needing it myself” R:”you had to find it (the charity) yourself” (GI 6) Participants reported a lack of awareness of available funded projects in local communities. Participants noted it would be beneficial to have a link between health care providers and local organisations, so patients can have both a medical and holistic route to their well-being. Participants discussed how local bureaucracy does not help in accessing certain networks, in group interview 3: P3:”But it’s the system (mental health system) we’re in, the bureaucracy” R:”…the system” P3:”And that’s set in stone … and it’s us really floundering due to our mental state and we really can’t fit into anything because we don’t have the comprehension of thick and thin, you know all the other bits” (GI 3) Findings suggest that artistic practice has encouraged MHSU expression of personal experiences of mental illness. Art as a discipline or as a tool can stimulate discussion with a positive impact on MHSU and awareness of the general public. 5.7 In summary
Chapter six: Discussion “Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it” (Freire, 1970, p. 60). 6.1 Aim of Research In the practice of reflection members of society can evolve to challenge problematic social attitudes in example by viewing and engaging in projects comparable to the Artivism Intervention. Stigma is a problem for people in everyday settings, medical encounters, at work, and with friends. In Scotland, 9 out of 10 people experience stigma daily Foucault (1980) noted that power “reaches into the very grain