Building a New Community Psychology of Mental Health

"In this book, Walker, Hart and Hanna present a refreshing critique of conventional responses to mental distress and argue for a radical shift. Through their examination of six diverse community based interventions they point to ways that community and social based approaches break through the dominant technologies of the biomedical approach by providing safe, compassionate, supportive, 'helpful' spaces that enable participants to redefine themselves outside of the boundaries of psy Institutions and celebrate their collective resilience. What is demonstrated in the case studies is how participants are resisting and overcoming oppression at the relational level and achieving well-being through these projects, and that alternative therapeutic relationships can be fostered where solidarity is the technology of change. This is valuable reading for students and an excellent resource for community based professionals." (Liz Cunningham, President, European Community Psychology Association) "Libraries around the world are full of psychology books written by distinguished scholars. Yet, the vast majority of these scholarly books offer a poor understanding of human distress and suffering. What is missing is the complex interplay of social-psychological experiences that are shaped by specific historical, cultural, political and economic dynamics. This book aims to fill this gap by offering a much-needed and more humane paradigm based on informal community and socially oriented approaches to psychological distress and well-being. This easy-to-read book is intended for a wide audience but it would be specifically useful in helping psychology students think about the psychological experiences of human beings in social, political and community terms." (Professor Serdar Degirmencioglu, Former President of the European Community Psychology Association)"/p> "Using a beguiling combination of good humour and serious analysis, the authors make the case firmly for the value of informal community-based practice of mental health care. This is a rich and compelling text which will be of enormous interest to academics, practitioners and service-users alike." (Professor Steven Brown, University of Leicester, UK)

This book provides a much-needed account of informal community-based approaches to working with mental distress. Instead it is clear that a considerable amount of invaluable mental distress work is undertaken in spaces in our communities that are not understood as mental health treatments.This book provides a much-needed account of informal community-based approaches to working with mental distress. It starts from the premise that contemporary mainstream psychiatry and psychology struggle to capture how distress results from complex embodied arrays of social experiences that are embedded within specific historical, cultural, political and economic settings. The authors challenge mainstream understandings of mental health that position a naive public in need of mental health literacy. Instead it is clear that a considerable amount of invaluable mental distress work is undertaken in spaces in our communities that are not understood as mental health treatments. This book represents one of the first attempts to position these kinds of spaces at the center of how we understand and address problems of mental distress and suffering. The chapters draw on case studies from the UK and abroad to point toward an exciting new paradigm based on informal community and socially oriented approaches to mental health. Written in an unusually accessible and engaging style, this book will appeal to social science students, academics, practitioners and policy makers interested in community and social approaches to mental health.