Human distress has historically been understood and responded to almost exclusively either as a biological disorder or a psychological deficit. This has led to the development of powerful structures, ‘mental health systems’, that have dominated thinking and practice around mental health and been controlled by the psychiatric profession.…

What gets in the way of our understanding other people? So asks psychologist Brian Levitt in this challenging and deeply reflective book. Levitt writes with honesty and humility about the profession in which he has worked for 25 years and the people he has worked with. He questions the assumptions that…

In October 2016 Jo Watson hosted the very first ‘A Disorder for Everyone!’ event in Birmingham, with psychologist Dr Lucy Johnstone, to explore (and explode) the culture of psychiatric diagnosis in mental health. To provide a space to continue the debate after the event, Jo also set up the…

Part of the PCCS Books ‘Our Encounters With...’ Series, this is a powerful testimony of the destructive, sometimes fatal, effects of stalking on its victims.  With a foreword by the bestselling author Peter James, author of the Roy Grace series, himself a victim of stalking, the book…

Download Brenda A LeFrançois foreword here If you are unwaged or on an insecure wage you can buy this book for £11.50. Enter the code 'srgspecial' at the checkout or phone us on +44 (0)1600 891509 to place your order. Postage will be free in the UK, £2.50 within the EU…

Should we talk to children about self-injury? Yes we should. 'Otis Doesn't Scratch' is a two-part resource to help young children understand why others self-harm. Children, like adults, often live in difficult circumstances, but with the right support they can make helpful sense of what’s happening. If…

Tales from the Madhouse by Gary Sidley provides critiques of psychiatric practice  that are powerfully backed up by moving, and at times disturbing, stories taken from his long years of practice as a mental health professional. Sidley strongly suggests that current psychiatric practices are based on pseudo-scientific assumptions that…

This book examines the central role of contexts in understanding psychosis and distress. The contexts in which we all exist, historical, cultural, social, political, economic and interpersonal, shape and give meaning to our lives for good or for bad. Scientific research confirms how contexts of adversity such as trauma, abuse,…

Article by Bruce Scott published in Common Space. '...austerity causes distress, but please do not call it exacerbating existing 'mental illness'. Read full article here In this book Bruce Scott presents one of the very few pieces of research carried out with people who have been residents of the Philadelphia…

The ‘Our Encounters with…’ series collect together unmediated, unsanitised narratives by service-users, past service-users and carers. These stories of direct experience will be of great benefit to those interested in narrative enquiry, and to those studying and practising in the field of mental health. This collection brings…