It's a rather exciting week.
My new book - 'A Prescription for Psychiatry' is published today.
A Prescription for Psychiatry builds from a psychosocial approach to mental health and well-being to recommend a wholesale revision of our mental health services. Arguing that the origins of distress are largely social, and that therefore we need a change from a ‘disease model’ to a ‘psychosocial model’, the book argues that we should reject traditional psychiatric diagnosis, significantly reduce our use of psychiatric medication, tailor help to each person’s unique needs, invest in greater psychological and social therapies, and place mental health and well-being services within a social rather than a medical framework.
And on Monday (8th September) we launch my free, online, course.
Psychological therapies and the work of clinical psychologists are now very popular. This course provides an introduction to how psychologists understand emotions, behaviours and thinking patterns, and how this helps clinical psychologists make sense of their clients’ problems. Students will explore some of the current challenges and debates in the area of diagnosis and treatment and discover new ways of thinking psychologically about mental health. The course will give students new perspectives on the ‘nature vs nurture’ debate. It will help students understand the ways in which we are affected by life experiences and will discuss new research which promises to help us improve our own mental health and well-being.
Wish me luck... join me on the course, and perhaps (it's up to you) buy the book !
I'm on the course. Two questions:why ar so many people on anti-depressants long-term? They are intended as short-term measures to be followed up by therapy. In my experience, they lead to long-term dependence and makes things worse, rather than better. Is it the pernicious effect of 'big pharma' yet again? Secondly, I don't see any proof that poverty CAUSES mental illness. The mentally ill often can't work so are likely to be poor. Also, the poor have lower levels of education which may make them less resilient. Correlation is not the same as causal effect.
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