“This place is getting to me”

This chapter outlines the ways in which medical and health geographers have contributed to the understanding of mental health. It discusses quantitative modeling of mental-health outcomes, detailing how aspects of individual, household and neighborhood socioeconomic context interact to influence risk. The chapter considers the use of qualitative approaches in elucidating the way in which the identities of those experiencing poor mental health are associated with the features and social meaning of places. Geographers have approached the nexus of place and mental health from several perspectives. Emphasis has been placed on determining the geographical scale at which place effects become important, with a focus often centered on socioeconomic inequalities and relative (income) disadvantage. The chapter provides a brief overview of the role of place in understanding mental-health outcomes and care. Wilkinson's well-established income-inequality thesis stakes a claim in the explanation of mental-health inequalities.