Psychiatry: A Very Short Introduction by Tom Burns

Psychiatry: A Very Short Introduction by Tom Burns

Psychiatry is now a highly visible activity - care in the community, compulsion, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse mean that few people are not touched by it. Indeed one in four of us will consult a psychiatrist in our life time. This book explains what psychiatry is, and what it is not. It starts with the identification of the major mental illnesses and why they are no longer considered just variations of 'normality'. It charts the rise of the Asylum and its demise with the developments of Care in the Community, and the flourishing of psychoanalysis and its later transformation into more accessible psychotherapies.More than any other branch of medicine psychiatry has been attacked and criticised. There is a long catalogue of abuses - from mundane neglect and bizarre treatments through to political abuse by totalitarian regimes. Modern psychiatry too brings with it new controversies such as the medicalization of normal life, the power of the drug companies and the use of psychiatry as an agent of social control. The book does not shy away from outlining these issues but provides the reader with a clear understanding of what psychiatry is capable of, and what it is not capable of, so that they can draw their own conclusions.

Tom Burns is Professor of Social Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and a practicing consultant psychiatrist in the NHS. His research has centred on community care of severely ill psychotic patients and, in addition to over a hundred and fifty scientific articles, he has written books on Assertive Outreach and Community Mental Health Teams.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780192807274
ISBN 10	0192807277
Title	Psychiatry: A Very Short Introduction
Author	Tom Burns
Series	Very Short Introductions
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2006-09-21
Number of pages	160
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.