Shunned: Discrimination against people with mental illness

People with mental illness commonly describe the stigma and discrimination they face as being worse than their main condition. Discrimination can pervade every part of their daily life - their personal life, working life, sense of citizenship, their ability to maintain even a basic standard of living. Though things have certainly improved in the past 50 years, discrimination against the mentally ill is still a major problem throughout the world. It can manifest itself in subtle ways, such as the terminology used to describe the person or their illness, or in more obvious ways - by the way the mentally ill might be treated and deprived of basic human rights. Should we just accept such discrimination as deeply rooted and resistant to change, or is this something that we can collectively change if we understand and commit ourselves to tackling the problem?Shunned presents clearly for a wide readership information about the nature and severity of discrimination against people with mental illness and what can be done to reduce this. The book features many quotations from people with mental illness showing how this has affected their home, personal, social, and working life. After showing, both from personal accounts and from a thorough review of the literature, the nature of discrimination, the book sets out a clear manifesto for change.Written by a leading figure in mental health in a lively and accessible manner, the book presents a fascinating and humane portrayal of the problem of stigma and discrimination, and shows how we can work to reduce it.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Judi Chamberlin 1: Close to home: family, housing and neighbours 2: Getting personal: friendships, intimate relationships and childcare 3: It's not working: discrimination and employment 4: By a process of exclusion: discrimination in civil and social life 5: Harmful helpers: discrimination in health and social care 6: Profiting from prejudice: mental illness in the media 7: Danger or disinformation: the facts about violence and mental illness 8: 'Why try?' Self-stigmatisation, avoidance and withdrawal 9: From stigma to ignorance, prejudice and discrimination 10: What works to reduce discrimination? Challenges for service users 11: What works to reduce discrimination? Challenges for everyone

About the Author :
Graham Thornicroft is Professor of Community Psychiatry, and Head of the multi-disciplinary Health Service Research Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He is a Consultant Psychiatrist and is Director of Research and Development at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. He chaired the External Reference Group for the National Service Framework for Mental Health in England. His areas of research expertise include: stigma and discrimination, mental health needs assessment, the development of outcome scales, cost-effectiveness evaluation of mental health treatments, and service user and consumer participation in mental health research. He is the author of 19 books and over 160 scientific papers.

Review :
For those interested in mental health policy on a global perspective, this book is essential. For all of us with the nagging sense that life for our patients is even harder than it needs to be, this book provides ample evidence that our suspicions are both shared and justified. In the end, Shunned is a politcally thoughtful and measured call to arms. The time is now. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Once a person is labelled a mentally ill, their decision-making ability is called into question and protests against treatments are either discredited or labelled as one more symptom of mental illness. ... The solution is not seen as lessening stigma but as ensuring people labelled as mentally ill retain the right as citizens to challenge the label and their treatment as well as the right to retain basic control over their lives Perhaps from this recognition, a civil rights movement may grow, dedicated to the liberation of people with mental illness from being marginalised, from being excluded and from being shunned. BMA Medical Book Competition 2007 ...an excellent text that should be pat of required reading for all social and health care professionals. Shunned is overflowing with research, quotes, and other material that make it an invaluable resource to have on the bookshelf. British Journal of Social Work