
A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs
The truth about how they work and how to come off them
Joanna Moncrieff(Author)
PCCS Books (Publisher)
2nd Edition
Published on 24. September 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
250 pages
978-1-910919-65-1 (ISBN)
Description
In an era when more people are taking psychiatric drugs than ever before, Joanna Moncrieff's explosive book challenges the claims for their mythical powers. Drawing on extensive research, she demonstrates that psychiatric drugs do not 'treat' or 'cure' mental illness by acting on hypothesised chemical imbalances or other abnormalities in the brain. There is no evidence for any of these ideas. Moreover, any relief the drugs may offer from the distress and disturbance of a mental disorder can come at great cost to people's physical health and their ability to function in day-to-day life. And, once on these drugs, coming off them can be very difficult indeed. This book is a wake-up call to the potential damage we are doing to ourselves by relying on chemical cures for human distress. Its clear, concise explanations will enable people to make a fully informed decision about the benefits and harms of these drugs and whether and how to come off them if they so choose.
Reviews / Votes
'This is a brilliant book. It offers an incisive, clear and evidence based appraisal of psychiatric drugs, arriving at just the right time to counter the growing controversy and confusion in this area. I could not think of a more respected and credible guide to take us through this tricky terrain. This book should be compulsory reading for anyone working in mental health. I would also recommend it for anyone holding a more personal interest in the subject.' - Dr James Davies, Reader in Social Anthropology & Mental Health, University of Roehampton, and author of Cracked: why psychiatry is doing more harm than good. 'There has never been a greater need for calm and reasoned thinking about psychiatric drug use, and, as a practising and open-minded psychiatrist, Joanna is the very best person to provide it. This book brings evidence and rationality to a contentious topic and offers people sound, researchbased information and genuine choice.' - Dr Lucy Johnstone, consultant clinical psychologist, author of A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Diagnosis and lead co-author of The Power Threat Meaning FrameworkMore details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
280 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-910919-65-1 (9781910919651)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Joanna Moncrieff
A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs
The truth about how they work and how to come off them
E-Book
12/2020
2nd Edition
PCCS Books
€18.49
Available for download
Previous edition

Joanna Moncrieff | Richard Bentall | Pete Sanders
A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Drugs
Book
06/2009
PCCS Books
€32.37
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Joanna Moncrieff is Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London, and a consultant psychiatrist at the North East London Foundation Trust. She is one of the founders and the co-chair of the Critical Psychiatry Network. Her research consists principally of a critique of mainstream views about psychiatric drugs. She also writes about the history of drug treatment and about the history, politics and philosophy of psychiatry more generally. She is currently leading UK government-funded research on reducing and discontinuing antipsychotic drug treatment and collaborating on a study to support antidepressant discontinuation. She is the author of numerous papers and several books, including The Bitterest Pills: the troubling story of antipsychotic drugs and The Myth of the Chemical Cure.
Content
Introduction, 1. The place of drug treatment in psychiatry, 2. How do psychiatric drugs work?, 3. The importance of research , 4. Antipsychotic drugs , 5. Antidepressants, 6. Lithium and other drugs used for bipolar disorder, 7. Stimulants, 8. Benzodiazepines, 9. Withdrawing from psychiatric drugs, 10. When might psychiatric drugs be useful? , 11. How did we get here and where do we go with it?, Appendix, Indexes