spacer

Sunday, July 30, 2006

My top 16 books on mental health/psychiatry

Mainly due to Kit from Kit Notes (and I have finally given you a link as well, Kit) who asked me about information on women and mental health, I have compiled this quick off-the-cuff reading list regarding mental health and psychiatry. Unfortunately, I would have compiled it quicker only to find myself re-reading texts and forgetting that I had bought some of the books I have (I ask myself, why some many Laing and Wilhelm Reich? Well, more to do with my radical cutting edge youth..ha!)

Anyway, my top 16 of books/articles which I recommend.. and in absolutely no order whatsoever (drum roll please)

1. Self-Harm: from a personal perspective - Louise Pembroke
2. Eating Distress - Louise Pembroke
3. Mad Pride - a celebration of mad culture
4. Hearing voices workbook - Ron Coleman and Mike Smith
5. Pure madness - Jeremy Laurance (patronising journalist who pissed off the people who took part in interviews, which is the only good thing about the book)
6. Voices of reason, Voice of insanity - Phil Thomas et al
7. Madness or misogyny - Jane Ussher
8. Female Malady - Elaine Showalter
9. Schizophrenia - a scientific delusion? Mary Boyle
10. Madness and Civilisation - Foucault
11. Sanity, madness and the family - Laing et al
12. Sex-pol - Wilheim Reich
13. Asylums - Goffman
14. From homebreakers to jailbreakers: Southall Black Sisters - Rahila Gupta ed (touches on mental health and racism)
15. Not in our genes - Steven Rose et al (good chapter on psychiatry and biological determinism)
16. Psychology and society - Ian Parker ed (a very fascinating article on the "The revolutionary psychology of Lev Davidovich Bronstein")

Links: MIND
Hearing Voices Network
Bristol Crisis Service for Women
Kiss It (they have organised an event between 7-10 August called Back to Bedlam.)

I have more books hidden away and need to find them. Hope this is of some help to you Kit or anyone else who may be interested.