Flourishing and the scope of medicine and public health

Abstract

A framework is put forward for the proper scope of considerations concerning flourishing within medicine, psychiatry, clinical counselling, public health and public policy. Each of these disciplines and associated institutional practices have distinctive contributions to make in advancing flourishing within society. In each case, there are also various aspects of flourishing that extend beyond each practice’s purview; and yet to restrict attention only to health, narrowly conceived, limits what each of these practices can in fact accomplish. A clearer understanding of what aspects of flourishing do, and do not, lie within the bounds of each discipline and practice has the potential to better enable the pursuit of societal well-being.