Examining Mental Health through Social Constructionism - The Language of Mental Health

This book explores social constructionism and the language of mental distress. Mental health research has traditionally been dominated by genetic and biomedical explanations that provide only partial explanations. However, process research that utilises qualitative methods has grown in popularity. Situated within this new strand of research, the authors examine and critically assess some of the different contributions that social constructionism has made to the study of mental distress and to how those diagnosed are conceptualized and labeled. This will be an invaluable introduction and source of practical strategies for academics, researchers and students as well as clinical practitioners, mental health professionals, and others working with mental health such as educationalists and social workers.

List of contents

Chapter 1:The Critical Turn to Language in the Field Of Mental Health.- Chapter 2: History of Mental Health and Mental Illness.- Chapter 3: Classification Systems and Diagnostic Processes.- Chapter 4: Critical Perspectives in Psychiatry: Anti- and Critical-Psychiatry.- Chapter 5: Models of Disability and The Translation to Psychiatric Categories.- Chapter 6: Constructions of Stigma.- Chapter 7: The Rhetoric of Evidence-Based Practice.- Chapter 8: Language-Based Methodologies for Studying Mental Health.- Chapter 9: Empirical Examples: Language, Mental Health and Therapeutic Approaches.- Chapter 10: Empirical Examples: Language, Mental Health and Child Mental Health.- Chapter 11: Conclusions: Thinking About the Future of Mental Health.

About the author

Dr Michelle O'Reilly is a Senior Lecturer for the Greenwood Institute of Child Health at the University of Leicester, and Research Consultant for Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. 
Dr Jessica Nina Lester is an Associate Professor of Inquiry Methodology in the School of Education at Indiana University, USA. 

Summary

Offers cutting-edge theoretical and empirical analysis research from the new Palgrave Language of Mental Health seriesOutlines a variety of language-based methodologies for studying mental healthProvides practical strategies by reviewing the application of social constructionist research in therapeutic practice and child mental health

Product details

• Authors: Jessica Nina Lester, Michell O'Reilly, Michelle O'Reilly
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.01.2018
• EAN: 9783319867755
• ISBN: 978-3-31-986775-5
• No. of pages: 366
• Dimensions: 148 mm x 20 mm x 210 mm
• Weight: 496 g
• Illustrations: XVII, 366 p.
• Series: The Language of Mental Health
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Psychology > Applied psychology; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Applied psychology; Soziologie, Psychologie, Psychiatrie, B, Medical counselling, Psychologie: Theorien und Denkschulen, Psychiatry, Psychological theory, systems, schools & viewpoints, Psychotherapy, Health psychology, Counseling, Behavioral Science and Psychology, research methodology, Social research & statistics, Psychotherapy and Counseling, Counseling Psychology, Sociology—Research, Sociological Methods, Critical Psychology