Podcast extra: Timothy Carey extended interviewPodcast extra: Timothy Carey extended interview
All In The Mind
Lynne Malcolm's extended interview with Timothy Carey about how he applies his perspective on control to address inequality in Rwandan society.
7:46•25 Oct 2020
Control, Inequality and Mental Health with Timothy Carey
Episode Overview
- A sense of control is presented as central to psychological health and to how social conditions affect people.
- Social determinants such as housing, employment and education are framed as helpful only if they increase people’s control over what matters to them.
- The same intervention, like providing a house, can either enhance or reduce control depending on family and community context.
- Work at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda focuses on training health professionals to confront health inequities and improve access to services.
- Cooperation within and between nations is linked to better COVID-19 outcomes, while competitive behaviours such as stockpiling are linked to poorer results.
“"Exactly the same intervention can have quite opposite effects, depending on how it influences people's ability to control the things that are important to them."”
What makes a sense of control so crucial for mental health and fairness in society? This extended conversation with Professor Timothy Carey gives you plenty to think about, especially if you're interested in inequality, public health and how communities actually change. Hosted by Lynne Malcolm, the episode focuses on Carey's long-standing work on control and why feeling in charge of your own life matters so much.
Now based in Rwanda as director of The Institute of Global Health Equity Research, he explains how his ideas are being used to tackle health inequality at a community and national level. Carey links psychological theory with the social determinants of health, drawing on public health research and his experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in central Australia. He argues that housing, employment and education only make a real difference if they increase people’s sense of control.
As he puts it, "exactly the same intervention can have quite opposite effects, depending on how it influences people's ability to control the things that are important to them." You’ll hear a striking housing example: for one family, a secure home brings safety, sleep, schooling and work. For another, the same house attracts extended relatives, overcrowding, damage and blame – and actually reduces their sense of control. It’s a neat way to show why context matters.
Carey also reflects on Rwanda’s approach to health equity, including new training programs for health professionals, and shares his thoughts on COVID-19. He contrasts cooperative national responses with competitive, stockpiling behaviour and highlights how people under lockdown have tried to create meaning and small pockets of control in tough conditions. Anyone interested in mental health, social justice or public health policy will find plenty here to mull over.
It might even prompt you to ask: where in your own life does control really matter most?
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