Is depression simply the result of chemical imbalances, or Schizophrenia a wholly biological disorder? What role do the broader circumstances of an individual's social, cultural and heuristic world play in the wider scheme of their psychological wellbeing?

In this ground-breaking and highly innovative text, Cromby et al deliver an introduction to the the biopsychosocial paradigm for understanding and treating psychological distress, taking into consideration the wider contexts that engender the onset of mental illness and critiquing the limitations in the sole use of the biomedical model in psychological practice. Rather than biologically determined or clinically measurable, readers are encouraged to consider mental illness as a subjective experience that is expressed according to the individual experiences of the sufferer rather than the rigidity of diagnostic categories. Similarly, approaches to recovery expand beyond psychiatric medication to consider the fundamental function of methods such as psychotherapy, community psychology and service-user movements in the recovery process. Offering a holistic account of the experience of psychological distress, this text draws upon not only statistical evidence but places an integral emphasis on the service-user experience; anecdotal accounts of which feature throughout in order to provide readers with the perspective of the mental health sufferer.

Taking an integrative approach to the psychology of mental health, the authors draw from a wealth of experience, examples and approaches to present this student-friendly and engaging text. This is core reading for anyone serious about understanding mental health issues and is suitable for undergraduate students taking introductory courses in psychology and abnormal psychology.

John Cromby is Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University, UK. Previously, he conducted research and teaching at the Universities of Nottingham and Bradford, and he has experience of working in mental health, drug addiction, and learning disability settings. His work engages with the ways that bodies and social processes come together to produce experience, including experiences of distress. In recent years this has meant exploring topics including paranoia, clinical sadness, emotion and fear of crime, and experimenting with methods of jointly analysing textual data and embodied activity. He is a former editor of the journal Subjectivity.

David Harper is Reader in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London (UEL), UK. He trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of Liverpool and worked as a clinical psychologist in National Health Service mental health services in the north-west of the UK for nine years. For a number of years he combined work as a clinician with part-time study for a PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has been at UEL since 2000 and his research interests are in applying critical psychology and social constructionist ideas to the understanding both of distress (particularly paranoia and unusual experiences and beliefs) and the work of mental health professions. He co-authored Deconstructing psychopathology (1995) and co-edited Qualitative research methods in mental health and psychotherapy: An introduction for students and practitioners (2012). He undertakes a small amount of clinical work as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Newham as part of the Systemic Consultation Service.

Paula Reavey is Professor of Psychology at London South Bank University, UK, where she delivers a module on the psychology of mental health and distress. She edited the volume Visual Psychologies: Using and Interpreting Images in Qualitative Research (2011) and also co-edited two volumes, New Feminist Stories of Child Sexual Abuse: Sexual Scripts and Dangerous Dialogues (with Sam Warner, 2003) and Memory Matters: Contexts for Understanding Sexual Abuse Recollections (with Janice Haaken, 2009). She is currently working on a co-authored book Vital Memory: Ethics, Affect and Agency (with Steven D. Brown, 2013) and has also published numerous articles on social remembering, child sexual abuse and sexuality, mental distress, and embodiment and space, using a variety of methodologies, including memory work, discourse analysis and visual methods.
John Cromby is Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University, UK. Previously, he conducted research and teaching at the Universities of Nottingham and Bradford, and he has experience of working in mental health, drug addiction, and learning disability settings. His work engages with the ways that bodies and social processes come together to produce experience, including experiences of distress. In recent years this has meant exploring topics including paranoia, clinical sadness, emotion and fear of crime, and experimenting with methods of jointly analysing textual data and embodied activity. He is a former editor of the journal Subjectivity.

David Harper is Reader in Clinical Psychology at the University of East London (UEL), UK. He trained as a clinical psychologist at the University of Liverpool and worked as a clinical psychologist in National Health Service mental health services in the north-west of the UK for nine years. For a number of years he combined work as a clinician with part-time study for a PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University. He has been at UEL since 2000 and his research interests are in applying critical psychology and social constructionist ideas to the understanding both of distress (particularly paranoia and unusual experiences and beliefs) and the work of mental health professions. He co-authored Deconstructing psychopathology (1995) and co-edited Qualitative research methods in mental health and psychotherapy: An introduction for students and practitioners (2012). He undertakes a small amount of clinical work as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in Newham as part of the Systemic Consultation Service.

Paula Reavey is Professor of Psychology at London South Bank University, UK, where she delivers a module on the psychology of mental health and distress. She edited the volume Visual Psychologies: Using and Interpreting Images in Qualitative Research (2011) and also co-edited two volumes, New Feminist Stories of Child Sexual Abuse: Sexual Scripts and Dangerous Dialogues (with Sam Warner, 2003) and Memory Matters: Contexts for Understanding Sexual Abuse Recollections (with Janice Haaken, 2009). She is currently working on a co-authored book Vital Memory: Ethics, Affect and Agency (with Steven D. Brown, 2013) and has also published numerous articles on social remembering, child sexual abuse and sexuality, mental distress, and embodiment and space, using a variety of methodologies, including memory work, discourse analysis and visual methods.