Mental Illness

Mental illness is a highly controversial and contested field, informed by the ideas and research of academics and practitioners working in psychiatry, psychology, pharmacology, sociology, genetics and the neurosciences. This book brings clarity to a complex field, exploring core issues ranging from debates about the way the concept has been developed, transformed and expanded over time, to controversies over its causes. The author evaluates critiques of the concept of mental illness and of the way its expanding boundaries now define a far wider range of mental states, experiences and activities as pathological, examining some of the changes that have been made in official psychiatric classifications since the Second World War. Arguing that these boundaries need to be restricted, the author contends that many of the phenomena identified as mental illness are normal reactions to life’s difficulties and that, while individuals may need support, it is not appropriate or helpful for such phenomena to be pathologized and treated as indicative of mental disorder. Other important topics covered include the way mental illness is measured, its distribution across populations and over time, and the different types of care provided for those with identified mental illness. Mental Illness will prove invaluable for intending practitioners in medicine, psychiatry, mental health nursing, social work and clinical and health psychology, as well as for students in psychology, sociology, and the health sciences.

Joan Busfield is Professor of Sociology at the University of Essex