Main description:

Human distress has historically been understood and responded to almost exclusively either as a biological disorder or a psychological deficit. This has led to the development of powerful structures, `mental health systems', that have dominated thinking and practice around mental health and been controlled by the psychiatric profession. Despite widespread recognition that such systems are often ineffective and can even be harmful, the bio-medical ethos, with its focus on `mental illness' and primary use of drug treatments, continues to prevail in mental health practices. This book showcases current projects that offer user-centred, context-informed, non-medical ways of helping people experiencing distress and overwhelm. The first section of the book includes projects located inside mainstream services that seek to influence change from within, including the education of future generations of practitioners. The second section describes projects that have established themselves as independent entities, outside mainstream structures and services, giving them the freedom to be truly radical in their approaches and influence by example. In a final section, the book looks at work aiming to challenge the wider societal influences that maintain the status quo and perpetuate factors that lead to mental distress and overwhelm.

Contents:

Introduction; Section 1 - Challenging from the inside; Chapter 1. Social work education as a critical space - Lydia Sapouna; Chapter 2. Acknowledging social Inequalities: developing competencies in community psychology in clinical psychology training - Anjula Gupta; Chapter 3. Critical pedagogy in occupational therapy - Eoin Gorman; Chapter 4. Critical mental health nursing education - Jonathan Gadsby; Chapter 5. Reluctant revolutionaries: implementing Open Dialogue in a community mental health team - Iseult Twamley; Chapter 6. Pause before prescribing: rethinking antidepressant use in general practice - Bryan McElroy; Chapter 7. Women and power: Drayton Park Women's Crisis House - Anne Cooke, Shirley McNicholas and Andie Rose; Section 2 - Changing from the outside; Chapter 8. Sli Eile: finding another way home - Joan Hamilton; Chapter 9. Alternative approaches to mental health crisis: the Leeds Survivor-Led Crisis Service - Fiona Venner; Chapter 10. Canerows peer support services - Paul Brewer; Chapter 11. Place and race: an alternative black mental health service - John Wainwright and Mick McKeown; Chapter 12. The Peertalk Network: sustainable, high-capacity social support - Stephen Normanton; Chapter 13. Independent advocacy: challenging human rights restrictions in mental health practice - Deidre Lillis; Section 3 - Changing the broader context; Chapter 14. Reclaiming agency through Oor Mad History - Ann O'Donnell and Kirsten MacLean; Chapter 15. The Power Threat Meaning Framework - John Cromby; Chapter 16. Truth and reconciliation: a radical approach to challenging mental health systems - Mick McKeown and Helen Spandler.