About the Book
This book is a challenge to the enduring status and domination of bio-medical approaches in mental health services. Contributors from four continents argue that this domination, along with modernization and multidisciplinary work, will not improve people's lives unless social and psychological perspectives are appreciated and integrated. This implies new forms of relationships and social arrangements. Mental Health at the Crossroads: the Promise of the Psychosocial Approach is a timely analysis of the psychosocial approach as it resonates across the discipline divide, considering the past and future development. It is written from the perspectives of service users and carers, managers, practitioners, educators, researchers and policy makers, illustrated with case studies from Australia, Brazil, Italy, UK and the USA. This book presents an alternative approach to conventional thinking in mental health, providing a fascinating and valuable resource for those seeking new perspectives, grounded in theory with practice examples, in order to influence the current agenda and change practice.
Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword, David Pilgrim; Introduction, Janet E. Williams and Shulamit Ramon. Part 1 Mental Health at the Crossroads: Towards a conceptual framework: the meanings attached to the psychosocial, the promise and the problems, Shulamit Ramon and Janet E. Williams. Part 2 Contextualised Social Policy: Agenda and Priorities: Control, citizenship and risk in mental health: perspectives from UK, USA and Australia, Neil Foster; Contextualised social policy: an Australian perspective, Bill Healy and Noel Renouf; Contextualised social policy: agenda and priorities - a UK perspective, Pauline M. Prior. Part 3 Paradigm Shift: Process and Outcomes: Paradigm shift in psychiatry, Duncan Double; Paradigm shift in psychiatry: processes and outcomes, Roberto Mezzina; Structural issues underpinning mental health care and psychosocial approaches in developing countries: the Brazilian case, Eduardo Mourão Vasconcelos; Developing self-defined social approaches to madness and distress, Peter Beresford. Part 4 The Psychosocial: Experience and Practice: The place of recovery, Jan Wallcraft; Self-help/mutual aid as a psychosocial phenomenon, Carol Munn-Giddings and Thomasina Borkman; The informal caring experience: issues and dilemmas, Joan Rapaport; Living with trauma, Janet E. Williams; Mental health promotion, Shulamit Ramon; Re-introducing the psychosocial in training, education and research, Julia Jones and Catherine Gamble; Spirituality and mental health: an integrative dimension, Phil Barker and Poppy Buchanan-Barker; Index.
About the Author :
Shulamit Ramon is Professor of Interprofessional Health and Social Studies at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge, UK. Janet E. Williams is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK. David Pilgrim, Janet E. Williams, Shulamit Ramon, Neil Foster, Bill Healy, Noel Renouf, Pauline M. Prior, Duncan Double, Roberto Mezzina, Eduardo Mourao Vasconcelos, Peter Beresford, Jan Wallcraft, Carol Munn-Giddings, Thomasina Borkman, Julia Jones, Catherine Gamble, Phil Barker, Poppy Buchanan-Barker.
Review :
’...an interesting and ambitious collection of readings that challenge predominant thinking in the field of mental health...does much to enhance our understanding of which direction to take at the crossroads of mental health reform.’ Professor Wes Shera, University of Toronto, Canada ’This accessible and thought provoking text draws on a wide range of expertise - international, historical, sociological, multi-professional, theoretical and practical, with a strong contribution from both service users and carers - to convincingly challenge the enduring bio-medical doctrine. Individual chapters provide fascinating insights when read alone; case studies and vignettes bring debates alive. Read as a whole the book offers an in-depth analysis of the key dilemmas facing everyone involved in contemporary mental health systems, and provides a credible, practical and theoretical case for taking an informed psychological and social approach to mental health work...recommended reading for all those working in the system, whatever their grade, profession or area of responsibility.’ Dr Julie Repper, University of Sheffield, UK ’Contributors to this collection are drawn from a range of backgrounds and from very different social contexts...All of the contributors explore central aspects of the psycho-social corrective to the bio-medical model and the assumption that new legislation necessarily marks progress. The reader will find much to think about in each chapter.’ (Taken from the Foreword) David Pilgrim, Liverpool University and Clinical Dean, Teaching Primary Care Trust East Lancashire, UK ’...very welcome in giving a good overview of the theoretical and practical background of the so called psychosocial model.’ International Journal of Integrated Care ’Practitioners will benefit from acquainting themselves with this book; policymakers will find it essential.’ Care Management Journals ’Advocates and practitioners of the psychosocial will appreciat
