Overview

Current psychiatric practices are based on pseudo-scientific assumptions that are barely more valid than those of witchcraft and demonic possession that dominated society's approach to madness in bygone centuries. The author's 33 years of experience working as a mental health professional - psychiatric nurse, clinical psychologist and manager - has enabled the creation of a distinctive insider account of the shameful failings of the Western psychiatric system. Not only is the evidence for psychiatry's deficiencies comprehensively reviewed, but disturbing anecdotes are shared to illustrate how these failings are currently playing out within a psychiatric service near you.

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9781906254759

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Reviews

Gary Sidley has written a passionate and gripping critique of mental health services in the UK, informed by his long experience as a psychiatric nurse and then, later, as a clinical psychologist practicing in the NHS. Although he supports his case with clearly reviewed research, it is the accompanying stories of his experiences with vulnerable patients mistreated by the system which are particularly compelling. Sidley vividly describes how power operates within psychiatric teams to the detriment of those who are utterly powerless. Richard Bentall, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool,UK.

Author Information

Gary Sidley worked within NHS mental health services for 33 years in a variety of nursing, psychological and managerial roles. In the 1980s he was employed as a psychiatric nurse a large asylum in Manchester, commencing his clinical psychology training in 1989. Subsequently, he worked as a clinical psychologist in community mental health services, inpatient units and GP practices. Gary opted for early retirement in 2013 and currently is a freelance writer and trainer with an interest in promoting alternatives to bio-medical psychiatry as ways of responding to human suffering.

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