Dolphin
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Medical gaslighting: conceptual and theoretical foundations - Social Theory & Health
Medical gaslighting is a term that is frequently found in gray literature but rarely found in formal literature. Thomas However, Gaslighting is a term that
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Medical gaslighting: conceptual and theoretical foundations
- Original Article
- Published: 07 January 2026
- Volume 24, article number 1, (2026)
- Cite this article
Abstract
Medical gaslighting is a term that is frequently found in gray literature but rarely found in formal literature.
Thomas However, Gaslighting is a term that has been examined in scientific literature, typically in relation to intimate partner relationships. I compare the concepts gaslighting and medical gaslighting in literature to identify critical distinctions and develop the following conceptual definition for medical gaslighting: Medical gaslighting is an interpersonal phenomenon involving a healthcare professional and a patient within which the healthcare professional trivializes, psychologizes, or dismisses the patient’s subjective bodily symptoms and health concerns. This leads to delays in care, medical mistrust, doubt in the reality of one’s bodily experiences, and medical trauma.
Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action and Foucault’s conceptualizations of power are proposed as theoretical underpinnings to the phenomenon of medical gaslighting in order to contextualize the antecedents which make the phenomenon possible and lay the groundwork for future studies that I hope will aim to quantify and mitigate its effects on the health of marginalized populations.