In "Finding Myself, " author Gelasia Marquez puts the puzzle pieces of her life together in this memoir. She not only reflects on the significant milestones in her life, but she also provides insight into the important people who touched her and impacted her existence.Born in Cuba in 1938, Marquez tells about growing up as a boarding student and as a confused young adult who suffered the effects of the political, religious, economic, and socio-cultural changes that destroyed her country of origin. She narrates her experiences as a student of Colegio del Apostolado, as a consecrated lay minister, a nine-year Cuban exile, a concerned bilingual school psychologist, a cancer survivor, a friend of friends, and a woman of faith. "Finding Myself" reflects on the transitions, crises, and challenges in Marquez's life and how these events-transpiring across three countries-played a substantial role in shaping her, her profession, and her future.

Sylhet, the area of Bangladesh most closely associated with overseas migration, has seen an increase in remittances sent home from abroad, introducing new inequalities. Social change has also been mediated by the global forces of Western biomedicine and orthodox Islam. This book examines the effects of these modernizing trends on mental health and on local, traditional healing as the new inequalities have exacerbated existing social tensions and led to increased vulnerability to mental illness. It is the young women of Sylhet who are most affected. The global economy has increased competition for resources and led to marriage being seen as a route to economic advancement. Parents prefer to give their daughters in marriage to families that will widen their social contacts and enhance their economic and social standing. Accordingly, the young wife's outsider status (and hence vulnerability to mental illness) has increased as it is no longer customary to give daughters in marriage to local kin. Yet, patients and their families do not work out tensions passively. They are active agents in the construction of their own diagnosis. The extent to which patients act or are acted upon is an investigation that runs throughout the book.

Alyson Callan is a psychiatrist and anthropologist. She currently works as a consultant psychiatrist in Brent for the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

This book examines the deep roots of racism in the mental health system. Suman Fernando weaves the histories of racial discourse and clinical practice into a narrative of power, knowledge, and black suffering in an ostensibly progressive and scientifically grounded system. Drawing on a lifetime of experience as a practicing psychiatrist, he examines how the system has shifted in response to new forms of racism which have emerged since the 1960s, highlighting the widespread pathologization of black people, the impact of Islamophobia on clinical practice after 9/11, and various struggles to reform. Engaging and accessible, this book makes a compelling case for the entrenchment of racism across all aspects of psychiatry and clinical psychology, and calls for a paradigm shift in both theory and practice.

This book contains a series of articles, written by international experts in the fields of intellectual disability and quality of life, that explore a broad range of issues that impact on the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. The book commences with a general discussion on defining quality of life and family quality of life and the appropriateness of using these constructs in the field of intellectual disability, and is followed by an analysis on the effects of living arrangements and employment on quality of life. The book concludes with discussions on the unique issues facing children with intellectual disabilities and people living in developing countries and the effect these issues have upon their quality of life.

Discusses the relationship between depression and medical illness and the diagnosis and management of depression in the medically ill. Covers methodological issues related to assessment and diagnosis of depression and analyzes psychological, social and biological factors associated with depression.

Although the epidemiology of mental illnesses is innately complex, there have been many strides in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic mental illnesses as more research is being conducted in the field. As more information becomes available, mental health professionals are able to develop more effective plans for caring for their patients. Chronic Mental Illness and the Changing Scope of Intervention Strategies, Diagnosis, and Treatment examines emergent research on the identification and epidemiology of various mental illnesses. Featuring information on the prevalence of the disease, psychopharmacological advancements, and strategies for the management of chronic mental illnesses, this book is ideally suited for students, psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, and other health professionals interested in learning more about shifting practices in the mental health sector.

Research in Community and Mental Health

This well-written text thoroughly addresses two quality of life issues in patients with a variety of neurological disorders: sexual and reproductive function. The de vasta stating effects of a variety of neurological diseases are well known to both the lay and medical communitIes, and are treated in numerous texts. However, as we continue to experience therapeutic breakthroughs in the tields of neurology and rehabilitation medicine, physicians and patients must become more aware of the issues discussed in this text. It is particularly important, as emphasized throughout the chapters, that the physician or therapist initiate conversations with the patients concerning both the possibility of parenting a child, as well as the ability of the patient to enhance his/her sexual functioning. Commonly in the patient who is otherwise perfectly normal, there is a reluctance to discuss these topics and couples often feel embarrassed to initiate a conversation with their physi cians. This reluctance to initiate a discussion is even more apparent in patients with a variety of neurological disorders, in which there are overriding fears concerning both function and survival, as well as deep concerns about their own attractiveness, and their sexual and repro ductive ability."

Participation in Children and Young People's Mental Health: An Essential Guide aims to break down the historical challenges surrounding children and young people's mental health (CYPMH) participation. It explores topics from how to conceptualise participation to more practical advice and guidance surrounding how to 'do' participation. Uniquely edited by Experts-by-Experience, it offers useful insights to how participation ought to be led from those with experience in the field. This ground-breaking text is supported by contributors from leading experts, including a mixture of lived experience and academic persepctives, providing a comprehensive dive into key concepts and practical examples to help improve practice. The chapters aim to spark thinking, conversations, and actions in participation and will provide lessons to embed into services, organisations, areas, groups, practice, and work. This text is an essential guide for trainees and professionals working in CYPMH services which includes the NHS in England, voluntary sector, and other health systems internationally.

The purpose of this book is to be the premier resource for behavioural health clinicians who are considering adopting technology into their practice. Written by experts and policy makers in the field this book will be recognized as the gold standard. Other books currently in this field are extremely technical and are geared primarily to policy makers, researchers and informaticians. While this book will be a useful adjunct to that audience, it is primarily designed for the over .5 million behavioural health clinicians in the U.S. and the millions others around the world. Adoption of technology is slow in behavioural healthcare, and this book will enhance the adoption and utilization of various technologies in practice. I.T. vendors may also purchase this book for their customers.

The Future of Mental Health drills to the heart of the current mental health crisis, where hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide receive unwarranted "mental disorder diagnoses." It paints a picture of how mental health providers can improve their practices to better serve individuals in distress and outlines necessary steps for a mental health revolution. Eric Maisel's goal is to inject more human interaction into the therapeutic process. Maisel powerfully deconstructs the "mental disorder" paradigm that is the foundation of current mental health practices. The author presents a revolutionary alternative, a "human experience" paradigm. He sheds a bright light on the differences between so-called "psychiatric medication" and mere chemicals with powerful effects, explains why the DSM-5 is silent on causes, silent on treatment, and wedded to illegitimate "symptom pictures." Maisel describes powerful helping alternatives like communities of care, and explains why one day "human experience specialists" may replace current mental health professionals. An important book for both service providers and service users, The Future of Mental Health brilliantly unmasks current mental health practices and goes an important step further: it describes what we are obliged to do in order to secure better mental health services-and better mental health-for everyone.

Climate change is increasing the severity of disasters and adverse weather conditions worldwide, with particularly devastating effects on developing countries and on individuals with lower resources. Climate change is likely to impact mental health and psychosocial well-being via multiple pathways, leading to new challenges. Direct effects such as gradual environmental changes, higher temperatures, and natural disasters, are likely to lead to more indirect consequences such as social and economic stressors, population displacement, and conflict.

Climate change, largely the product of industrialized nations, is projected to magnify existing inequalities and to impact the most vulnerable, including those with low resources, individuals living in developing countries and specific populations such as women, children and those with pre-existing disabilities. This book outlines areas of impact on human well being, consider specific populations, and shed light on mitigating the impact of climate change. Recommendations discuss ways of strengthening community resilience, building on local capacities, responding to humanitarian crises, as well as conducting research and evaluation projects in diverse settings.

From a historical point of view the first studies on the response of the organism to stressful situations in general, and on the psychobiology of stress in particular, are probably those of Cannon and de la Paz, the physiologists who showed in 1911 that the adrenal medulla and the sympathetic system are involved in emergency situations. Cannon noted that the venous blood of cats frightened by barking dogs contained adrenaline, a response of the organism which was prevented by adrenalectomy or by section of the splanchnic nerve innervating the adrenal medulla. Cannon suggested that the adrenal medulla was acting in concert with the sympathetic nervous system, so that both systems were activated during stress. The role of the sympathetic system in response to stressful events was later emphasized by the experiments carried out by Maickel et al. (1967) and by Mason (1968): these authors clearly showed that stressors activate the sympathetic system causing it to release adrenaline and noradrenaline. This line of research may be contrasted with that carried out by Hans Selye, centered on of the adrenal cortex in the stress response. Selye's findings and theories originated the role the so-called hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal cortex (HPA) model of stress: in short, during stress adrenocorticotropic hormone is released from cells of the anterior pituitary and elicits secretion of glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex.

This fascinating, entertaining and often gruelling book by James Mills, examines the lunatic asylums set up by the British in nineteenth-century India. The author asserts that there was a growth in asylums following the Indian Mutiny, fuelled by the fear of itinerant and dangerous individuals, which existed primarily in the British imagination. Once established though, these asylums, which were staffed by Indians and populated by Indians, quickly became arenas in which the designs of the British were contested and confronted. Mills argues that power is everywhere and is behind every action; colonial power is therefore just another way to assert control over the less powerful. This social history draws on official archives and documents based in Scotland, England and India. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in history, sociology, or the general interest reader.

What is schizophrenia? Is it a nervous breakdown or a neurochemical malfunction? Why does it develop mostly in late adolescence?

In this groundbreaking and innovative book, Chris Harrop and Peter Trower outline a whole new way of understanding schizophrenia. Controversially, they argue that symptoms seen as psychosis can be linked to the typical psychological development of adolescence and, in particular, to problems constructing an independent, adult self.

This unique psychological account of schizophrenia, written in accessible language, offers insights and practical therapeutic techniques that will be of value to young people with this problem, their families and anyone working with adolescents.

For therapists and all those working in mental health services, particularly those interested in early intervention, this book is essential reading.

‘… a valuable contribution to what remains one of the most problematical issues for health providers, receivers and researchers.’ Dr Paul Patterson

‘… what Peter and Chris have to say is controversial, but I suspect this work will be regarded in time to come as "trail-blazing".’ Professor Max Birchwood

The World Health Organization's concept of health as "the condition of psychophysical and social well-being" must be translated into opera tional terms. The objective is to place the human person within the social system, given that mental health, mental illness, and suffering are individual, despite the fact that their causes are to be sought in the society and environment that surround and interact with the indi vidual. One dimension that must be emphasized in this field is the contin uum that exists between social environment and cerebral development. This continuum consists of the physical and biological features of the two interacting systems: on one hand, the brain managed and con trolled by the genetic program, and, on the other hand, the environ ment, be it natural or social. A simple dichotomy of individual and environment is no longer a sufficient concept in understanding the etiology of mental health and illness. Needless to say, socioepidemiological research in psychiatry and transcultural psychiatry is useful in reaching these ends. However, at the root of mental illness, one can always find the same causal elements: informational chaos, inadequate dietary intake, substance abuse, trauma, conditioning, and so on, which make the interactive systems dysfunctional. Subsequent organic and psychotic disorders occur to the detriment of both the individual and society. Current biological psychiatry is inadequately equipped in treating mental illness."

This international survey defines mental health as a basic human right, and tracks the emergence of mental health prevention and promotion as a global priority. Locating mental illness within a cycle of negative causes and effects affecting human quality of life, the editors identify modern policy barriers to promotion/prevention initiatives, particularly the favoring of the biomedical health model by major stakeholders. The book's selection of successful programs from diverse countries displays a lifespan approach, emphasizing the centrality of interdisciplinary educational settings in providing primary and secondary prevention and promotion interventions, and the ongoing fight against missing financial investigations, discrimination and stigma. Together, these papers make a forceful argument for rights- based responses to worldwide mental health needs as part of the commitment toward global human rights and long-term development goals. Included in the coverage: * Mental health priorities around the world. * Social determinants of mental health. * Mental health and stigma: aspects of anti-stigma interventions. * Promoting social and emotional wellbeing and responding to mental health problems in schools. * The promotion and delivery of mental health services in primary care settings. * Economic evaluation of mental health promotion and mental illness prevention. Bringing to the fore public health concerns that are too often marginalized, Global Mental Health is necessary reading for health professionals, health and clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, medical sociologists, and policymakers.