HEALTH.
‘PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY INC.’ REIMAGINES MENTAL HEALTH AND ITS CARE
‘PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY INC.’ REIMAGINES MENTAL HEALTH AND ITS CARE
JULIE TILSEN VIEWS OUR WELLBEING AS A SOCIAL RATHER THAN INDIVIDUAL PROJECT | SEPTEMBER 2026
The late mystic Jiddu Krishnamurti’s best-known, if somewhat apocryphal maxim is, “It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” In other words, we shouldn’t gauge how well we’re doing by how well we’re able to conform to a flawed system. Without quoting this directly, licensed therapist and gender and cultural studies Ph.D Julie Tilsen applies this thesis to her field in her new book, Personal Responsibility, Inc., out now with OR Books. Confronting neoliberalism for blinkering psychotherapy, she urges practitioners and clients alike toward a more socially informed mental health care.