This is one of the first books to comprehensively explore representations of madness in postwar British and American Fiction. The five authors come from diverse backgrounds - literary studies, social psychology, medical psychiatry and psychiatric nursing - and as such the book's perspectives are informed through several discourses, making it a unique co-authored text in the discipline of Health Humanities. The book looks at representations of madness in a range of texts by postwar writers (such as Ken Kesey, Marge Piercy, Patrick McGrath, Leslie Marmon Silko, William Golding, Patrick Gale, William Burroughs and J.G. Ballard, to name a few), and explores the ways in which these representations help to shape public perceptions and experiences of mental disorder.
This book is relevant to both those with interests in literary studies and a vital read for psychiatric clinicians and professionals who are interested in how literature can inform and enhance clinical practices.

In this classic text the authors examine the links between racism, psychological ill health and inadequate treatment of ethnic minorities. Through a series of case studies they discuss:
* the psychological legacy of colonialism and slavery
* the racist bias in psychiatric and psychological theory
* diagnostic bias
* the role of religion in mental health or illness
* the value of anthropological and pschoanalytic insights
A new concluding chapter in this edition reviews the development of 'transcultural psychiatry' and summarises recent changes in administration of the Mental Health Act, bringing this influential book right up to date.

Related link: Free Email Alerting