
A Straight Talking Introduction to Children's Mental Health Problems (second edition)
Sami Timimi(Author)
PCCS Books (Publisher)
2nd Edition
Published on 15. April 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
150 pages
978-1-910919-82-8 (ISBN)
Description
Rates of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders in children, such as depression, ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders, have shot up in recent years. So too has the prescription of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs and stimulants. Yet the diagnoses are based on weak science, questionable research and powerful financial incentives. In this updated edition of his powerful critique, consultant child psychiatrist Sami Timimi questions why Western societies routinely seek to manage children's behaviour with dangerous medication. He offers a humane and child-centred alternative that is about understanding our children's distress, not medicating it, and practical advice that all parents, carers and teachers will find helpful.
Reviews / Votes
'Sami Timimi examines the complexity of children's mental health from a subjective, rather than an objective, viewpoint that prioritises a humanities perspective over a scientific one. If you think that makes for a wishy-washy read, you're wrong. Timimi draws on cultural norms and social constructs, classification systems, competition, globalisation and commodification to make sense of why children are more likely than ever to be diagnosed with a mental health 'condition' and treated as such. This might 'satisfy our understandable thirst for certainty' but, he warns, it betrays a 'more important need for truth and honesty'. Truth and honesty are what this straight-talking book delivers in abundance. Prescription drugs are put on trial; so too, uncomfortably but necessarily, are the talking therapies. This is a little book that packs a big punch. A must-read for anyone interested in understanding more about children's distress and how to help them manage it. Which should be all of us.' - Jeanine Connor, child and adolescent psychotherapist and editor of BACP Children, Young People & Families journal 'We live in a time when ever-increasing rates of 'mental disorders' are being diagnosed in our children and more children are being labelled and medicated. This concise, accessible book by a practising child psychiatrist offers a critical perspective on these important issues. Timimi draws on wider societal discourses and historical and cultural contexts to critique the diagnoses of ADHD, autism, and depression, the efficacy of medication to treat them and the validity of the so-called gold standard studies that underpin them. This book stimulates critical thinking, reflection and analysis and encourages the reader to question and explore the dominant narratives around 'mental health disorders' in children and their treatment. This book is a great addition to the critical psychiatry literature but should be read by parents and carers too who want a different perspective to mainstream psychiatric understandings of their children and how to help them.' - Dr Karen Treisman, MBE, clinical psychologist, organisational consultant, trainer and writer on children's mental health. 'The mainstream mental health system that labels and pathologises is responsible for creating countless victims. Tragically, many of them are children. This book is critical reading for anyone who cares about the wellbeing of children. This should mean all of us.' - Jo Watson, founder of adisorder4everyone.com and editor of Drop the Disorder! and We are the Change-Makers. Review for the first edition of this book: 'Trust Timimi, not the medical mouthpieces of the pharmaceutical establishment he demolishes.' - Oliver James, author of They F**k You Up: How to survive family lifeMore details
Series
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Adult education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 129 mm
Width: 199 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
176 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-910919-82-8 (9781910919828)
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

E-Book
06/2021
2nd Edition
PCCS Books
€15.99
Available for download
Previous edition

Sami Timimi | Richard Bentall | Pete Sanders
A Straight-Talking Introduction to Children's Mental Health Problems
Book
06/2009
PCCS Books
€15.00
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Sami Timimi is a UK-based child and adolescent psychiatrist who writes from a critical psychiatry perspective on topics relating to mental health and childhood. He has published numerous articles and chapters, authored or co-authored seven books and co-edited four more. You can find out more about him on www.samitimimi.co.uk
Content
Series introduction, 1. The work of culture, 2. Childhood in today's world, 3. Common diagnoses, 4. Common treatments used with children and adolescents, 5. Getting help, References, Indexes.