Madness Contested

This impressive volume not only comprehensively critiques the simplistic, pessimistic medical model that dominates the mental health world, but provides an array of exciting exceptions and alternatives. A must read for all interested in creating more effective, humane, evidence-based approaches to madness. Professor John Read, University of Auckland Madness Contested is a thought-provoking, informed manifesto for rethinking what we call madness and how best to treat such psychiatric distress. As the writers of this book convincingly argue, science, philosophy, and the lived experience of those who have known such states all tell of how our current "medical model" of madness fails us, and of the benefit that could come from a reconceptualization of what it means to be "mad." Robert Whitaker, Journalist and author of Mad in America and Anatomy of an Epidemic This inspiring collection of essays is a welcome addition to the growing literature on critical and alternative approaches to psychiatry. The authors, some well-known and some speaking out for the first time, cover topics ranging from the experience of taking neuroleptics to new ways of understanding paranoia - The book is particularly strong on service user perspectives and projects. In fact, there is something for everyone here - it is unfailingly lively, challenging and thought-provoking. Lucy Johnstone, Clinical Psychologist and author of Users and Abusers of Psychiatry.