
Understanding Mental Distress
Knowledge, Practice and Neoliberal Reform in Community Mental Health Services
Rich Moth(Author)
Policy Press
1st Edition
Published on 17. May 2022
Book
Hardback
276 pages
978-1-4473-4987-7 (ISBN)
Description
In this timely analysis, Rich Moth assesses mental health services in a period of major change.
Based on extended fieldwork in community mental health services, he explores the many impacts of policy reform, marketisation and austerity on NHS mental health provision, and positions developments in the contexts of neoliberalism and an increased emphasis on individual responsibility.
Firmly rooted in the lived experiences of people using mental health services and the everyday practices of social workers, nurses and psychiatrists, he develops a stimulating perspective on how mental distress is understood and responded to within these settings.
Based on extended fieldwork in community mental health services, he explores the many impacts of policy reform, marketisation and austerity on NHS mental health provision, and positions developments in the contexts of neoliberalism and an increased emphasis on individual responsibility.
Firmly rooted in the lived experiences of people using mental health services and the everyday practices of social workers, nurses and psychiatrists, he develops a stimulating perspective on how mental distress is understood and responded to within these settings.
Reviews / Votes
"This excellent volume is an important theoretically informed contribution that exposes the gap between the progressive narrative of community care, based on the recognition of individual rights as citizens and the current bureaucratic models of service provision." Critical Social Policy "This book provides an important contribution to the debate about what mental health services should look like, who should provide them and how, and it should be required reading for those engaged in those debates in both academic and practice spheres." Sociology of Health & Illness "This important book is a must read for mental health nurses and other practitioners who feel immense strain in their everyday work but can struggle to make meaningful sense of their predicament and, hence, identify what to do for the best." International Journal of Mental Health Nursing "A rich, theoretically informed account of what is currently shaping practice in our mental health services. A key text for those concerned with understanding, challenging and transforming these services to benefit those who use them and those who work in them." Ann Davis, University of Birmingham "Putting both workers and service users at its heart, in this volume Rich Moth makes a compelling case that structural and ideological forces continue to limit the possibility of genuine mental health care ... Highly recommended." Helen Spandler, University of Central Lancashire and Editor, Asylum MagazineMore details
Edition
First Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Bristol
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bristol University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
4 s/w Tabellen
4 Tables, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
562 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4473-4987-7 (9781447349877)
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

Rich Moth
Understanding Mental Distress
Knowledge, Practice and Neoliberal Reform in Community Mental Health Services
Book
04/2023
1st Edition
Policy Press
€39.00
Shipment within 15-20 days

Rich Moth
Understanding Mental Distress
Knowledge, Practice and Neoliberal Reform in Community Mental Health Services
E-Book
05/2022
1st Edition
Policy Press
€45.99
Available for download

Rich Moth
Understanding Mental Distress
Knowledge, Practice and Neoliberal Reform in Community Mental Health Services
E-Book
05/2022
1st Edition
Policy Press
€64.99
Available for download
Person
Rich Moth is Lecturer in Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Content
Introduction
Part 1: Socio-Historical Contexts of Policy and Practice
Chapter 1: Policy Responses to Mental Distress: From the Asylum to Neoliberal Services
Part 2: Lived Experiences of Neoliberal Reform
Chapter 2: The Transition from Relational to Informational Practice
Chapter 3: Time, Trust and Relational Practice
Chapter 4: Risk and Responsibilisation
Chapter 5: Defining Mental Distress
Chapter 6: Punitive Managerialism Under Austerity
Chapter 7: Shifting Contours of Managerial Control
Part 3: Theorising Knowledge and Practice
Chapter 8: Temporality and Situational Logics in the Labour Process
Chapter 9: Biomedical Residualism and its Discontents
Conclusion
Part 1: Socio-Historical Contexts of Policy and Practice
Chapter 1: Policy Responses to Mental Distress: From the Asylum to Neoliberal Services
Part 2: Lived Experiences of Neoliberal Reform
Chapter 2: The Transition from Relational to Informational Practice
Chapter 3: Time, Trust and Relational Practice
Chapter 4: Risk and Responsibilisation
Chapter 5: Defining Mental Distress
Chapter 6: Punitive Managerialism Under Austerity
Chapter 7: Shifting Contours of Managerial Control
Part 3: Theorising Knowledge and Practice
Chapter 8: Temporality and Situational Logics in the Labour Process
Chapter 9: Biomedical Residualism and its Discontents
Conclusion