Full Description
This volume attempts to shed a new and different light on the intersections between mental health, mental distress and society, without offering any programmatic methodology or declaration of intent. An array of critical voices from across various disciplines in the humanities (including philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, history and literature) are brought to bear upon the subject of mental distress as a form of life that appears within particular social and cultural environments. "Being Human" provides a powerful statement of the importance of thinking through the humanities for any non-reductive understanding of the meaning of mental distress, and gives compelling insights on a range of problems including; the understanding and representation of mental distress, the history of symptoms and critiques of psychiatry, and what a critical practice within mental health care means.At the heart of this collection lies a concern with the experience of mental distress as central to any understanding of what it means to be human. This book will be of interest to all those involved in the wider mental health field, including, academics, practitioners, service users and families and carers.Students and academics working within the humanities as a whole, particularly those interested in the experience of mental distress, will find this volume to be a key point of entry for current issues of debate.
Contents
Introduction. Alastair Morgan Part One: Understanding and Representing Mental Distress1. Feelings, Beliefs and Being Human. John Cromby2. Towards a Critical Perspective on A"Narrative LossA" in Schizophrenia. Phil Thomas3. Constructions, Reconstructions and Deconstructions of Mental Health. Ian Parker4. The Authority of Lived Experience. Alastair Morgan5. Philosophy and Psyche: What can philosophy tell psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy? Miles Clapha Part Two: Symptoms in Society6. The role of Tricksters in Challenging Psychiatry. Helen Spandler7. Writing From the Asylum: A Re-Assessment of Female Patients in the History of Psychiatry In France. Susannah Wilson8. Mirrors of Shame: the Act of Shaming and the Spectacle of Female Shame. Jocelyn Catty9. Symptoms in Society. The Cultural Significance of Fatigue in Victorian Society. Chris Ward10. Artaud's Madness: The Absence of Work? Patrick CallaghanPart Three: Critical Reflections on Practice11. A Phenomenological Encounter: Prelude to a Mental Health Assessment in a Magistrates Cells. Dave R. Wilson12. Opening up Space for Dissension: A Questioning Psychology. Bob Diamond13. Clinical Psychology and Truth. David Smail
