Overview

This book provides an alternative viewpoint on mental health, an issue that touches so many of the families and individuals we work with. Whether that be a parent or school seeking an ‘ADHD’ diagnosis for a child, a teenager struggling with self-harm, or a parent with ‘bipolar’, it is a topic of ever-increasing relevance. Too many social workers accept the dominant medical model and therefore can unwittingly collude with issues of helplessness, thus maintaining harmful systems or experiences by positioning the individual as the ‘problem’. This goes against a truly systemic way of thinking and can take away from a more helpful narrative and exploration. Providing critical thought around the concepts of mental health ‘disorders’ themselves, the damage they can cause and questioning the progress being made, this book covers how mental health ‘diagnosis’ works, its origins, and its shockingly unscientific and highly subjective basis. It urges us to recognise that when we talk of mental health diagnosis, we are often talking about social constructs. Social workers should challenge oppression, empower people, and uphold their human rights, and this book helps to prevent the perpetuation of harm to the very people we wish to support.

Full Product Details

9781041064763

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Jennie Simpson is a practising social worker, having qualified in 2021 after completing a Bachelor of Arts (First-class Hons). Jennie was inspired by both her personal and professional experiences to write about people’s complex emotional worlds. Her first book, Social Work and Mental Health: A Critical Analysis and Practical Guide to Doing Better addresses the complex area of what is commonly called mental health. Jennie embraces an anti-pathology, systemic, and trauma-informed approach in her work.

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