Rethinking the Sociology of Mental Health is a collection of original papers introducing new ways of thinking sociologically about the terrain of mental health. There are more general papers about mental health and mental health policy and papers about specific types of mental illness and particular policy issues such as dangerousness.

Identity (Re)constructions After Brain Injury: Personal and Family Identity investigates how being diagnosed with acquired brain injury (ABI) impacts identity (re)construction in both adults with ABI and their close relatives. To show how being diagnosed with ABI impacts identity (re)construction, this book investigates key patterns of identity construction. Discourse analysis, especially on the concept of positioning, provides an understanding of the changes and developmental processes in these self-narratives. These narrative (re)constructions point to a developmental change of identity in the course of the different phases of the recovery process for both persons with ABI and their relatives, including conflicting voices from society, service providers, relatives, and other adults with ABI. In addition, the (re)construction process is characterized by much ambivalence in both ABI survivors and relatives. Three perspectives are triangulated: (1) an insider perspective from ABI survivors; (2) an insider perspective from relatives; and (3) an outsider perspective from the researchers. This allows us to see how identities are negotiated and constructed in concrete situations. This innovative book will be required reading for all students and academics working in the fields of disability studies, rehabilitation psychology, sociology, allied health, and social care.

The Dyslexic Adult: Living in a non-dyslexic world is aimed at teachers, employers, careers advisers, counsellors and any others who work with, support or live with dyslexic adults. Using case studies and adult "voices" to illustrate and elaborate their points, the authors explore a range of issues affecting dyslexic adults. The book approaches the understanding of dyslexia through the perspective of the dyslexic adult and through examining the dyslexic "cognitive style" approaches an understanding of the lives of dyslexic adults through examining their cognitive style and its impact on how this affects them in their personal, academic educational (academic doesn't have the same general meaning in Britain where it is used to oppose vocational) and work lives. It explores the importance of diagnosis and discusses many of the contentious issues surrounding the assessment of in assessing dyslexic adults. It suggests strategies and creative solutions for dyslexic difficulties as well as ways of exploiting? capitalising on? using? dyslexic strengths. Finally, it takes a look into the future, suggesting that changes in the 21st century may alter perceptions of dyslexia and the opportunities for role which dyslexic adults play in society, and encourages the non-dyslexic world to value the contributions which dyslexic adults can make.

Media representation of and for the disabled has been recharged in recent years with the expansion of new media worldwide. Interactive digital communications--such as the Internet, new varieties of voice and text telephones, and digital broadcasting--have created a need for a more innovative understanding of new media and disability issues. This engaging analysis offers a global perspective on how people with disabilities are represented as users, consumers, viewers, or listeners of new media, by policymakers, corporations, programmers, and the disabled themselves.

In recent decades, record numbers of Jews are taking a newfound interest in their legal heritage - the Bible and the Talmud, the law codes and the rabbinical responsa literature. In the course of this encounter, they may be interested in how these sources relate to the issue of disability, and the degree to which halakhic attitudes to disability are in harmony with contemporary sensibilities. For example, can the blind or those in wheelchairs serve as prayer leaders? Need the mentally incompetent observe any ritual law? Is institutionalization in a special-education facility where Jewish dietary laws are not observed permitted if it will enhance a child's functioning? And how are we to interpret teachings that seem inconsonant with current sensibilities?
Disability in Jewish Law answers the pressing need for insight into the position of Jewish law with respect to the rights and status of those with physical and mental impairments, and the corresponding duties of the non-disabled.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203219511

In the decades following the collapse of state socialism at the end of 1980s, disabled people in Central and Eastern Europe endured economic marginalisation, cultural devaluation and political disempowerment. Some of the mechanisms producing these injustices were inherited from state socialism, while others emerged with postsocialist neoliberalisation. State socialism promised social security guaranteed by the public, and postsocialist neoliberalisation promised independent living underpinned by the market. This book argues that both promises failed as far as disabled people were concerned, drawing on a wide range of scholarly reports and analyses, policy documents, legislation, and historical accounts, as well as on disability studies and social justice theory. Besides differences, the book also illuminates continuities between state socialism and postsocialist capitalism, providing on this basis a more general and historically grounded critique of contemporary neoliberalisation and its impact on individual and collective life. The book will appeal to anyone interested in disability studies and postsocialism, as well as social policy, social movements and critical theory. It will also be of interest to professionals involved in disability-related service provision, as well as to disability activists and policy makers.

Anti-Racist Practice (ARP), Anti-Discriminatory Practice (ADP) and Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP) form a trinity of concepts, nested into one another, which have evolved in welfare services over the last fifteen years. They tend to have developed as forms of practice panaceas and as a result have been subject to both unrealistic expectations and, at times, to political ridicule. This book clarifies the distinctions between three key concepts - ARP, ADP and AOP. Critically and constructively analysing these three approaches to practice it reappraises their potential in the light of emerging equality issues in the health service
With contributions from leading teachers and practitioners in the field, Equalising Opportunities provides students and practitioners in health and social care with a clear overview of an area where there is much confusion and imperfect understanding.

Being Disabled, Becoming a Champion is an accessible presentation of current European research on the most recent evolutions in sports for people with disabilities, demonstrating knowledge developed from the field of sports practices of people with disabilities. It covers three interrelated themes. First, it covers the different facets of the history of sports organizations set up during the 1950s for athletes with motor or intellectual impairments. The second part focuses on the athletes themselves. Voices are given to the top-level athletes in adapted sports: people with intellectual impairment; the pioneers of wheelchair racing who invented a new discipline, off-road wheelchair racing; and a former Paralympic athlete who has become a researcher and a defender of specific sports practices. Finally, the third part interrogates the way support for disabled people can modify the existing definitions and conceptions of the body, of disability, of what is human, and of sports performance. This is an ideal text for students and researchers studying and working in the areas of Disability Studies, Sport Sciences and Paralympic Studies. This book was originally published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This special issue brings together explorations of crip temporality: the ways in which bodily and mental disabilities shape the experience of time. These include needing to use time-consuming adaptive technologies like screen readers, working slowly during a pain flare-up, or only being able to look at a screen for short periods. Through accessibly written essays, art, and poems, contributors explore both the confines of crip temporality and the freedoms it provides. They offer strategies and narratives for navigating the academy as a disabled person; reclaim self-care as a tool for personal survival instead of productivity; and illustrate how crip time is mobilized in service of biopolitical projects. More than just a space of loss and frustration, they argue, crip time also offers liberatory potential: the contributors imagine how justice, connection, and pleasure might emerge from temporalities that center compassion rather than productivity. Contributors Moya Bailey, Amanda Cachia, Maria Elena Cepeda, Eli Clare, Finn Enke, Elizabeth Freeman, Matt Huynh, Alison Kafer, Mimi Khuc, Christine Sun Kim, Jina B. Kim, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Margaret Price, Jasbir Puar, Jake Pyne, Ellen Samuels, Sami Schalk, Michael Snediker

This volume honors the founder of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities (IARLD), William M. Cruickshank, and his many accomplishments. His influence on special education in general, and learning disabilities in specific, is evident throughout the world. Consistent with his international activities, the contributors to this book represent nine different countries. The chapters reflect a range of perspectives on "the state of the art" in learning disabilities, documenting both commonalities and differences across countries. Taken together, the chapters provide a comprehensive and informative picture of learning disabilities.

Contents:
Introduction 1. Antiquity; Attitudes of the Bible; Classical Antiquity; Causes of blindness; Blindness and guilt; The blind seer; Ate 2. The Blind in the Early Christian World; The healing of the blind; Blindness and revelation; the story of Paul; A concluding observation 3. The Middle Ages; The Antichrist; Allegorical blindness; The blind beggar; The blind and his guide 4. The Renaissance and its Sequel; The blind beggar; Metaphocial blindness; The revival of the blind seer; Early secularization of the blind; The blind beggar in the seventeenth century 5. The Disenchantment of Blindness: Diderot's Lettre sur les aveugles

A unique work that brings together a number of specialist disciplines, such as archaeology, anthropology, disability studies and psychiatry to create a new perspective on social and physical exclusion from society. A range of evidence throws light on such things as the causes and consequences of social exclusion stigma, marginality and dangerousness.
It is an important work that breaks down traditional academic disciplinary boundaries and brings a much needed comparative approach to the subject.

Uses an integrated rehabilitation perspective to address career, vocational behavior, employment, and disability related theory and research.This highly regarded resource is the only book in rehabilitation counseling to provide comprehensive coverage of vocational behavior and employment theory and intervention techniques as they apply to individuals with disabilities. Scholarly yet practical, the second edition is updated with key information and research, delivering new employment statistics, employment rates, and poverty levels of people with disabilities. Woven throughout this new edition, is the Illinois Work and Well-Being Model, incorporating foundational theories and providing a framework for understanding the critical factors that impact the career development process. Chapters-written by leaders in the field-are consistently organized for ease of use. Each chapter includes an Overview of Major Constructs followed by Theoretical Foundations; Occupational Assessment, Information and Evaluation; Intervention Strategies; and Population and Settings. Case examples and discussion questions highlight and reinforce application of theories and techniques. New Sample Syllabi, Classroom Activities, PowerPoints, and a Test Bank are included for instructors. An eBook is included with the purchase of the print edition. New to the Second Edition: Provides new employment statistics, employment rates, and poverty levels of people with disabilities Reviews details of the Work Force Innovation Act Integrates the Illinois Work and Well-Being Model throughout as a framework for understanding critical factors impacting the career development process Links with CACREP standards Discusses relevant new legislation New Key Concept Boxes, Chapter Summaries, and Chapter Glossary increase accessibility of the new edition Includes sample syllabi, classroom activities, PowerPoint slides, and test bank Key Features: Addresses contemporary career, vocational behavior, employment, and disability related theory and research from an integrated rehabilitation perspective Written by well-respected practitioners and educators Organized to facilitate instructor flexibility in assigning chapters without losing course continuity

In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed by the US Congress, eliciting much debate. In this work, leading philosophers, legal theorists, bioethicists and policy makers look into the philosophical and moral foundations of disability law and policy.
Americans with Disabilities is a thought-provoking analysis of one of the United States' most controversial laws.

Praise for Serious Mental Illness and the Family "Serious Mental Illness and the Family is unique in building assessment, intervention, and collaborative strategies around specific types of clinical cases and life scenarios. The book will be an invaluable aid to mental health professionals working with severely ill clients and their families." —Harriet P. Lefley, PhD Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences University of Miami School of Medicine "Dr. Marsh is very knowledgeable about families, yet is also very compassionate in her approach to the experience of families who are frequently traumatized by a mental illness in a family member. Professionals who work with families of people with mental illness will find [this] book extremely helpful in their work.…a rich source of information." —LeRoy Spaniol, PhD Executive Publisher, The Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal "Dr. Diane Marsh has given the mental health field yet another brilliant resource.…any psychiatric service provider can pick up this book and immediately find useful strategies for commonly occurring communication difficulties in both the initial interview and ongoing therapeutic interactions." —Mary D. Moller, MSN, ARNP, CS CEO, Psychiatric Rehabilitation Nurses, Inc. "[A] timely and important work…enriched with dozens of case vignettes, useful strategies, and profound insight. The writing is crystal clear, approachable, and engaging with satisfying depth and detail. Dr. Marsh is able to translate contemporary family theory content and new ideas into meaningful principles of practice for helping the spouses and partners, children, siblings, and other family members of people with severe mental illness." —Kia J. Bentley, PhD, LCSW Associate Professor, School of Social Work Virginia Commonwealth University

God, Suffering, and Disability: A Trinitarian Theodicy of the Cross utilizes both Christological and pneumatological perspectives of Luther's theology of the cross to address the complexities of suffering and disability. Through the lens of the cross, the God who suffers enables humans to "call a thing what it is" by recognizing the suffering that often accompanies disability. Rather than asking "why" the Triune God allows people to suffer, this theodicy of disability focuses on "where" the Father, Son, and Spirit are in that very human experience. As a new theodic construct, "a Trinitarian theodicy of the cross" responds to both the theological concerns of the church and the theoretical apprehensions of society. It encourages Christians to live as theologians of the cross, empowers the faith community by informing both its theology and praxis, and provides a theoretical response to secular society that will enrich the field of disability studies.

In The Social Nature of Mental Illness, Len Bowers offers an objective and philosophical critique of the theories of mental illness as a social construct. His purpose is to examine the rationality of these theories, what they might mean, and in which cases they are to be accepted or rejected. Previous work on this issue has concentrated upon empirical evidence. All that has been generated from this are opposing interpretations rather than solutions. This book examines the common ground between the apologists for and critics of psychiatry and discusses how debate on this issue affects research into and treatment of mental illness. Len Bowers argues that many of the assertions made about the social nature of mental illness are misguided or wrong, but he concludes that they cannot be wholly rejected.


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eBook available with sample pages: 0203361229

Feminist Perspectives on Disability provides a unique introduction to the key debates in relation to both feminism and disability. The author considers contemporary similarities, differences and contentious areas and how concepts drawn from postmodern feminism can be usefully applied to the disability arena. The book explores many important aspects of the field, including: biological debates; issues of power, knowledge, equality, difference, subjectivity and the body; interface of public and private/care and community; medical and social barriers; politics, citizenship and identity. Feminist Perspectives on Disability will be compulsory reading for students of all levels in Women's Studies, Gender Relations, Social Policy, Social Work/Social Care and social Science.

This book presents chapters by many eminent researchers and interventionists, all of whom address the development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the context of family and school. A variety of disciplines and perspectives are provided in order to capture the complexity of factors affecting development of these children in their diverse environments. Consistent with current theory and educational practice, the book focuses most strongly on the interaction of family and child strengths and needs and the role of educational and other interventionists in supporting family and child growth. This work, and the authors represented in it, have been influenced by the seminal work of Kathryn P. Meadow-Orlans, whose work continues to apply a multidisciplinary, developmental approach to understanding the development of deaf children.
The book differs from other collections in the degree to which the chapters share ecological and developmental theoretical bases. A synthesis of information is provided in section introductions and in an afterword provided by Dr. Meadow-Orlans. The book reflects emerging research practice in the field by representing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In addition, the book is notable for the contributions of deaf as well as hearing authors and for chapters in which research participants speak for themselves--providing first-person accounts of experiences and feelings of deaf children and their parents. Some chapters in the book may surprise readers in that they present a more positive view of family and child functioning than has historically been the case in this field. This is consistent with emerging data from deaf and hard of hearing children who have benefitted from early identification and intervention. In addition, it represents an emerging recognition of strengths shown by the children and by their deaf and hearing parents.
The book moves from consideration of child and family to a focus on the role and effects of school environments on development. Issues of culture and expectations pervade the chapters in this section of the book, which includes chapters addressing effects of school placement options, positive effects of learning about deaf culture and history, effects of changing educational practice in developing nations, and the need for increased knowledge about ways to meet individual needs of the diverse group of deaf and hard of hearing students.
Thus, the book gives the reader a coherent view of current knowledge and issues in research and intervention for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Because the focus is on child and family instead of a specific discipline, the book can serve as a helpful supplemental text for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in a variety of disciplines, including education, psychology, sociology, and language studies with an emphasis on deaf and hard of hearing children.

Disability Welfare Policy in Europe:Cognitive Disability and the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic analyses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on persons with cognitive disabilities and their families. Written from a Disability Studies perspective, this edited collection investigates education, employment, social and health care services in European case studies. Recognising how Covid-19 health surveillance has limited the rights of all persons, the chapters demonstrate how its impact has been even more severe on persons with cognitive disabilities and their families. Outlining the changes in welfare services during the Covid-19 pandemic that have led to new forms of segregation and hindered full participation of persons with disabilities in society on an equal basis with others, the collection chronicles a setback in the process of implementing the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Within the framework of public sociology, Disability Welfare Policy in Europe:Cognitive Disability and the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic shows the failure of the attempts aimed at shifting disability policy into the mainstream. The authors highlight how persons with disabilities, their families, as well as personnel working in disability welfare policy have fought to keep the perspectives and rights of persons with disabilities on the policy agenda. If the Covid-19 health surveillance has rendered persons with disabilities invisible, how can they be made visible once again?

Diagnosing Folklore provides an inclusive forum for an expansive conversation on the sensitive, raw, and powerful processes that shape and imbue meaning in the lives of individuals and communities beleaguered by medical stigmatization, conflicting public perceptions, and contextual constraints. This volume aims to showcase current ideas and debates, as well as promote the larger study of disability, health, and trauma within folkloristics, helping bridge the gaps between the folklore discipline and disability studies. This book consists of three sections, each dedicated to key issues in disability, health, and trauma. It explores the confluence of disability, ethnography, and the stigmatized vernacular through communicative competence, esoteric and exoteric groups in the Special Olympics, and the role of family in stigmatized communities. Then, it considers knowledge, belief, and treatment in regional and ethnic communities with case studies from the Latino/a community in Los Angeles, Javanese Indonesia, and Middle America. Lastly, the volume looks to the performance of mental illness, stigma, and trauma through contemporary legends about mental illness, vlogs on bipolar disorder, medical fetishism, and veterans' stories.

Technology has attracted an increasing level of attention within studies of disability and disability rights. Many researchers and advocates have maintained skepticism towards technology out of the fear that technology becomes another way to 'fix' impairments. These skeptical views, however, contrast with a more positive approach towards the role that technology can play in eliminating barriers to social participation. Legal scholarship has started to focus on accessibility and accessible technology and in conjunction with the recently adopted United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has put a great emphasis on accessibility, highlighting the role that accessible technology plays in the promotion and protection of the rights of people with disabilities. Against this background, this book gathers together different contributions that focus on enhancing the production, marketing and use of accessible technology. Building upon previous academic studies and in light of the UNCRPD, accessible technology is considered a tool to increase autonomy and participation. Overall, this book attempts to show, through a multifaceted and inter-disciplinary analysis, that different regulatory approaches might enhance accessible technology and its availability. This title was previously published as a special issue of the International Review of Law, Computers & Technology.

Full Contributors:
Professor Philip Bean, Director of the Midlands Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice, Loughborough University; Paul Cavadino, Director of Policy and Information for the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NACRO); Daniel Grant, specialist practioner in child protection; Professor Robert Harris, University of Hull; Jill Peay London School of Economics; Judith Pitchers, Loughborough University; Professor Michael Preston-Shoot, Liverpool John-Moores University; David Webb, Dean of Faculty of Economics and Social Science, Nottingham Trent University; Sir John Wood, Emeritus Professor in Law, University of Sheffield; Sir Louis Blom-Cooper QC

When working with older clients--or clients who have become "instantly old" due to disability--can a professional's personal feelings affect the helping process? Countertransference and Older Clients explores this issue and focuses on the use of countertransference--the powerful linkage between a helper's personal feelings and his/her professional work. This practical volume shows helping professionals how to confront and examine their own denial, fear of growing old, being helpless, and dying, anger related to death and loss, and their need for control. Contributors address such issues as how practitioners "overhelp" and "underhelp" some clients because of their feelings and experiences; how personal and family biases contribute to inappropriate diagnosis, referral, and treatment; why service is prolonged with some clients and terminated too soon with others; and how fear of AIDS, death, and suicide hinder effective support and treatment. In addition, actual case studies are woven throughout to illustrate how practitioners can effectively put their feelings and behaviors to use during the helping process. Written for practitioners in the field of aging, mental health, social work, nursing, psychology, and psychiatry, Countertransference and Older Clients is an important therapeutic tool for all helping professionals. "Throughout this clear, concise, interesting little book, the authors communicate a warmth and sensitivity to the needs and feelings of both helpers and older clients. One interesting feature is the inclusion of a chapter written by an older worker, an often neglected perspective in gerontological literature." --Journal of Psychology and Theology "Bonnie Genevay and Renee Katz have made an enormous contribution to gerontological practice by focusing on the conscious and unconscious attitudes and feelings of practitioners toward their older clients, which enhance or diminish their helpfulness to older people. In this very useful volume they and other experts cover a wide range of problematic situations including disability, dementia, and dying with empathy. Teachers and supervisors as well as those working in direct practice will find this book highly instructive." --Barbara Silverstone, Executive Director, The Lighthouse (The New York Association for the Blind) "This unique text approaches many aspects of aging and countertransference of caregivers, not elsewhere seen in the vast array of gerontological publications. It provides a sensitive and compassionate presentation of the various issues and problems of countertransference experienced by individuals providing care to elders in a variety of difficult situations. I highly recommend this text for its unique content, warmth of presentation and insights into relationships with the old. I have come away enriched and enlightened." --Priscilla Ebersoll, Ph.D., San Francisco State University "This book is a must for anyone who works with older clients. It contains dozens of case examples of how our own desires and fears about aging and conditions associated with it interfere with our capacity to function as professionals should. It is full of suggestions for dealing constructively with our emotional reactions that occur in the conduct of our professional lives. It deals with important topics such as terminal illness and death, suicidal elders, disability, and AIDS. It is clear, concise, and very useful." --Robert C. Atchley, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio "A profound respect and caring for both older clients and service providers permeate each chapter. . . . The book is exceptionally strong in its comprehensive and sensitive review of issues that many of us do not like to face--how our own fears and attitudes about aging may interfere with our professional effectiveness. Included are topics that have not been adequately dealt with elsewhere. . . . By clearly and sensitively highlighting the importance of self-awareness to professional effectiveness, the authors have made a significant contribution to the practice literature, and ultimately to practice with older adults." --Generations "This book makes a major contribution to the field by supplying numerous sensitive and revealing examples of personal emotional reactions to working with older adults. It should be read by everyone who counsels older adults and by students aspiring to careers in serving the elderly." --Bob G. Knight, Merle H. Bensinger Associate Professor, Gerontology and Psychology University of Southern California "The book's strength--an important one--lies in its conciseness of writing and clarity. It is an easy read! Yet it offers valuable insights and practical suggestions. The topics too, while diverse, are pulled into a homogeneous frame so as to make the book extremely cohesive, not easy in an edited work. The offering of case histories makes the book come alive as the reader becomes enmeshed in the dialogue/scenario going on between client and worker. . . . The book should make a genuine impact on the field of aging, promoting growth in workers and clients alike." --Clinical Gerontologist "Countertransference and Older Clients offers a well-written collection of articles by several authors dealing with aging, loss, disability, and death. It explores feelings that emerge between professional caregivers and their elderly clients in various settings. Other topics include suicidal elders, AIDS and HIV illness, dementia, substance abuse, sexuality, and nursing home placement. Good case examples are provided. . . . . A valuable addition to the body of knowledge for professionals working with older adults." --NASW California News

This book concerns the process of transition that we all make throughout our lifetime, and the necessary skills individuals with disabilities need to function outside of school. The book illustrates that the problems of transition are not just for persons with disabilities, but for everyone. Acceptance of differences, understanding that our perceptions may not be accurate, and the ability to be honest with one another are shown to be key elements in assisting transition.