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SUMMARY:Neighbourhoods as Thorny Matters: A Qualitative Analysis of How Lo
 cal Conditions Shape Mental Health and Everyday Life in Palestine - Profes
 sor Hanna Kienzler\, King's College London
DTSTART:20260507T113000Z
DTEND:20260507T123000Z
UID:TALK246547@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Oliver Knight
DESCRIPTION:Neighbourhoods are often treated as key determinants of mental
  health\, yet they are ‘thorny matters’: dynamic\, contradictory space
 s where safety and exclusion coexist. This research centres the lived expe
 riences of people with severe mental illness in the West Bank of the occup
 ied Palestinian territory to examine how neighbourhood conditions are nego
 tiated in practice. While existing literature links socioeconomic deprivat
 ion\, inequality\, and weak social cohesion to poor mental health\, less a
 ttention has been paid to how structural and interpersonal violence\, alon
 gside perceptions of safety\, shape inclusion and exclusion. Findings show
  that participants experienced neighbourhoods as spaces of both continuity
  and disruption. To manage stigma and maintain safety\, many adopted hyper
 -local lives\, relying on immediate kinship networks. These networks could
  be protective\, offering familiarity and shielding\, but were equally fra
 gile: gossip\, mistrust\, and reputational concerns often undermined suppo
 rt. Safety was further destabilised by the broader political context. Isra
 eli military incursions\, arrests\, and ongoing violence were repeatedly i
 dentified as triggers of distress and as forces that constrained mobility 
 and social engagement. Despite these constraints\, neighbourhoods also hel
 d potential for inclusion. When mental illness was understood and acknowle
 dged\, participants reported greater empathy\, acceptance\, and practical 
 support. These findings highlight neighbourhoods as contested social ecolo
 gies\, where violence\, care\, stigma\, and belonging intersect\, and wher
 e mental health is shaped through the ongoing negotiation of these ‘thor
 ny’ conditions.
LOCATION:Online via zoom
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