Hi David,

You could try Madness Explained by Richard P Bentall ( penguin paperback; 2^nd edition 2004) ? It doesn’t meet all your requirements in that it doesn’t look at all diagnostic categories, only psychosis/ schizophrenia, but it does give a very thorough explanation of the DSM criteria, and why the medical model categories are inappropriate. Written by a cognitive psychologist but informed by wider considerations of social justice – the author makes personal connections as he had a brother who was diagnosed as psychotic. It’s technical, long but readable.

Regarding anxiety and depression, you could try Goldberg and Goodyear (2005) Origins and Course of Common Mental Disorders. Routledge. Again, this challenges medical model thinking but probably not as socially critical as you would want.

Annie

-----Original Message-----
From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Fryer
Sent: 02 January 2007 15:28
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: critical reading on everyday psychiatry?

Happy New Year

Can anyone recommend a good book for the following purposes, please?

Some of us who are members of an expressive arts mental health group in Scotland, plan to meet in the new year in a 'book group' to read, think about and critically discuss the diagnoses some of us have been given by psychiatrists and the broader context of psychiatry and psy-professions. We are looking for recommendations of a book or books to use. We have three requirements of such a book:

First, we do need a book which really clearly explicates the so-called symptoms, diagnostic categories, common pharmaceutical and other interventions etc. which are actually deployed by psychiatrists and others.

Secondly, we also need a book written within a critical frame of reference, which does itself not subscribe to the medical model of mental ill-health but is informed by wider societal and justice considerations.

Thirdly, we need a book which will not disable us through use of a lot of jargon, very complicated sentence structure etc.

Does anyone know of an accessible book about mental illness which gets to grip with everyday diagnoses and treatments made in the UK whilst supporting and promoting ideologically critical thinking?

The closest we have got so far is: Key Concepts in Mental Health (Key Concepts) by David Pilgrim (Paperback - Feb 2005). This is really very interesting but a little more general than we want.

David Heeley and Mary Boyle have already been recommended.

Can anyone suggest any other book we might consider?

David

David Fryer
University of Stirling
FK9 4LA
Scotland
+44 (0) 1786 467650 (tel)
+44 (0) 1786 467641 (fax)
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