Positive and negative aspects of the who definition of health, and their implications for a new concept of health in the future

Piet Van Spijk

pp. 209-227

in: Paulina Taboada, Kateryna Fedoryka, Patricia Donohue-White (eds), Person, society and value, Berlin, Springer, 2002

Abstract

Working as a doctor in an outpatient psychiatric hospital, I had just finished the treatment of a young homosexual woman who had recently separated from her girlfriend. She experienced a strong grief reaction and came into treatment for this reason. She improved rather quickly, and it was at that moment that I was confronted with the following practical question: Does a homosexual person, who feels reasonably well, require further treatment? Is such a person healthy or not? What are the grounds for a "yes' or "no" in response to this question? The medical library of the University Hospital where I worked, and the medical literature in general, was of little help in answering such questions. I was surprised to find nothing there.