Description
Book SynopsisThis is Madness examines the past, present and possible future of the British mental health system. In this volume, users of services, professionals and academics come together to explore the roles and practices of the mental health service, its place within society and the experiences of those in the system. In eighteen chapters the authors discuss the history of psychiatry, the validity of diagnostic systems and the value of traditional medical and alternative approaches to emotional distress and crisis. Recent changes in mental health legislation and their likely impact on the future shape of mental health services are presented in a way accessible to lay readers, students and mental health practitioners alike. This book will be an invaluable resource for all those involved with, or training for a career in mental health services.
Trade ReviewThe editors of This is Madness have achieved a rare blend for a book comprising different and disparate authors ... Where the book really hits the target is in its highly successful attempt to merge user views with the opinions and views of mental health professionals ... I will be recommending it to my students in 1999. Steve Baldwin, Changes, Vol. 17, No. 3, Autumn 1999. This is Madness is clearly written and avoids jargon; it will be accessible to a wide variety of readers within and without the mental health system. It will be especially useful to persons involved in efforts to reform community mental health systems and to those developing psychosocial supports and services as an alternative to biomedical, coercive treatment and "care". This is Madness would also make an excellent reader for students at all levels in courses concerned with community mental health, combining critique of the psychiatric system on many levels with concrete exploration of the kinds of meaningful alternatives which can hope to be empowering and supportive of recovery in more than name. Michal Mc Cubbin PhD, Saskatchewan Population Health and Evaluation Research Unit, University of Regina, Canada, in Ethical Human Sciences and Services, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2001.
Table of ContentsPsychiatry in context Histories of psychiatry Craig Newnes Social inequalities and mental health Jennie Williams Racism and mental health Nimisha Patel and Iyabo A. Fatimilehin What psychiatry does Diagnosis Mary Boyle Drugs David Crepaz-Keay ECT: The facts psychiatry declines to mention Katy Arscott Do families cause schizophrenia'? Revisiting a taboo subject Lucy Johnstone Psychiatric hospitals and patients' councils Marese Hudson Alternatives and alliances Hearing voices and the politics of oppression Ron Coleman Collaborative conversations Peter Hulme User involvement in mental health service development David Pilgrim and Lesley Hitchman The service user/survivor movement Peter Campbell Survivor controlled alternatives to psychiatric services Vivien Lindow Beyond psychiatry The duty of community care: The Wokingham MIND crisis house Pam Jenkinson Promoting community resources Janet Bostock, Valerie Noble and Rachel Winter The role of education in the lives of people with mental health difficulties Tracey Austin Green approaches to occupational and income needs in preventing chronic dependency Brian Davey The future of mental health services Craig Newnes and Guy Holmes
