Understanding and Addressing Psychological and Social Problems: the Mediating Psychological Processes Model

Background: Psychological and social problems such as mental disorder, unemployment, substance misuse and crime are personally distressing and absorb huge proportions of Government effort. Addressing these is a multi-agency, multidisciplinary exercise, but there is evidence of a marked policy shift toward the provision of psychological therapies and interventions.

Aim: To offer a distinctively psychological perspective on these key social and mental health problems.

Method: Scholarly review of the relevant literature.

Results: This article presents a coherent model — the mediating psychological processes model — addressing the complex, interconnected, nature of these problems. The mediating psychological processes model suggests that disruption or dysfunction in psychological processes is a final common pathway in the development of mental disorder and social problems. The model proposes that biological, social and circumstantial factors lead to mental disorder, crime and other social problems through their conjoint effects in influencing or disrupting relevant psychological processes.

Conclusions: The implications for policy, and implementation of policy, are discussed.