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Dominique Béhague

Dr Dominique Béhague

Reader in Global Health & Anthropology

Research interests

  • Ethics
  • Mental Health
  • Policy

Biography

Dominique Pareja Béhague holds a BA and MA in Anthropology from Bryn Mawr College, a PhD in Social Anthropology from McGill University, and an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). She was previously at the Department of Anthropology at Brunel University, and held an honorary appointment at the LSHTM, where she worked for eight years before joining King's College London.

Research

Dominique’s research in southern Brazil explores the intersection of psychiatric reform, social movements, and the emergence of "adolescence" as an object of psycho-developmental expertise. She co-designed the longitudinal ethnographic sub-study of the 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort with Professor Helen Gonçalves. This cohort, established by Professors Cesar Victora and Fernando Barros of the Federal University of Pelotas, is one of the longest-running cohorts in the world, and one of only a handful that incorporates ethnographic methods. Dominique has also conducted research on sexual and reproductive health and the politics of evidence-based research in global health policy. Her research has received funding from entities such as the US National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Foundation, the World Health Organization, the UK Economic and Social Research Council, and The Wellcome Trust. 

With more than 50 peer-reviewed articles or book chapters, Dominique writes across multiple disciplines including anthropology, sociology, epidemiology, Brazilian and Latin American Studies, global health, psychiatry, and the mental health survivor-led movement. She has edited or co-edited four special issues on: the anthropology of psychiatry for Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry (2008); the rise of developmental science for Social Science and Medicine (2015); the ‘global psyche’ for Medical Anthropology Quarterly (2020); and theorising ‘the social’ in mental health for Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (2024). 

Her research has been featured in various media outlets, including BBC 4, BBC World service, National Public Radio, Mad in America, and for the New England Journal of Medicine Interviews podcast. Two recent invited talks include one on interdisciplinary practice in the Pelotas cohort and a Psychiatry Grand Rounds talk on what Brazilian psychiatry can teach practitioners about taking social and political factors into account in the mental health clinic. 

Recently, with Professors Bernardo Horta and Helen Gonçalves, Dominique was awarded a two-year National Science Foundation grant, due to start in September 2024, for continued research in the 1982 Pelotas birth cohort. The project aims to integrate theories from science and technology studies, anthropology, and developmental psychology to build a “critical developmental science”—an interdisciplinary, culturally sensitive, and socially responsible approach to studying human development.

Further details

See Dominique's research profile

    Research

    CMP Logo-72dpi
    Culture, Medicine & Power research group

    Delving into the interdisciplinary study of social, cultural, political and historical dimensions of health and illness.

    mental health app_promo
    Mental Health & Society research group

    Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.

    Sao Paulo
    Mental health, migration and the megacity in São Paulo

    Looking at the relationship between mental health and urban transformation since the late nineteenth-century in São Paulo.

    Project status: Completed

    Reproduction research cluster logo
    Reproduction Research Group

    Our interdisciplinary group examines the complex social, cultural, and political dimensions of reproduction.

    News

    Therapy works best when it encourages users to find their own solutions to social challenges

    Evidence suggests that for young people, therapy works best when it openly acknowledges the social, political and economic context and encourages them to...

    Mental health illustration

    Events

    12Junglobe-895580_1280

    Challenging ‘progress’: from life-course research to the geopolitics of 'development'

    A discussion among scholars researching human "development" and those examining social and political "development."

    Please note: this event has passed.

    18Apr780x440-special-issue-launch-image

    Launch event: Theorizing the social in mental health research and action

    What does a social perspective on mental health look like? And why does it matter? Join us as we explore these questions at our launch of the special issue...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    08MarCovid Brazil

    Citizen participation, COVID-19, and democratisation in Brazil

    This panel explores the social, political, and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    14JulParticipating Culture Humility Mental Health_Image

    Participating, Culture and Humility in Mental Health: Challenges & Opportunities

    We are excited to host a public panel entitled “Participating, Culture and Humility in Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities” chaired by Dr Dominique...

    Please note: this event has passed.

      Research

      CMP Logo-72dpi
      Culture, Medicine & Power research group

      Delving into the interdisciplinary study of social, cultural, political and historical dimensions of health and illness.

      mental health app_promo
      Mental Health & Society research group

      Seeking to better understand the socio-political dimensions of mental health and illness in the Global North and South.

      Sao Paulo
      Mental health, migration and the megacity in São Paulo

      Looking at the relationship between mental health and urban transformation since the late nineteenth-century in São Paulo.

      Project status: Completed

      Reproduction research cluster logo
      Reproduction Research Group

      Our interdisciplinary group examines the complex social, cultural, and political dimensions of reproduction.

      News

      Therapy works best when it encourages users to find their own solutions to social challenges

      Evidence suggests that for young people, therapy works best when it openly acknowledges the social, political and economic context and encourages them to...

      Mental health illustration

      Events

      12Junglobe-895580_1280

      Challenging ‘progress’: from life-course research to the geopolitics of 'development'

      A discussion among scholars researching human "development" and those examining social and political "development."

      Please note: this event has passed.

      18Apr780x440-special-issue-launch-image

      Launch event: Theorizing the social in mental health research and action

      What does a social perspective on mental health look like? And why does it matter? Join us as we explore these questions at our launch of the special issue...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      08MarCovid Brazil

      Citizen participation, COVID-19, and democratisation in Brazil

      This panel explores the social, political, and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      14JulParticipating Culture Humility Mental Health_Image

      Participating, Culture and Humility in Mental Health: Challenges & Opportunities

      We are excited to host a public panel entitled “Participating, Culture and Humility in Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities” chaired by Dr Dominique...

      Please note: this event has passed.