Madness Explained

Today most of us accept the consensus that madness is a medical condition: an illness, which can be identified, classified and treated with drugs like any other. In this ground breaking and controversial work Richard Bentall shatters the myths that surround madness. He shows there is no reassuring dividing line between mental health and mental illness. Severe mental disorders can no longer be reduced to brain chemistry, but must be understood psychologically, as part of normal behaviour andhuman nature.Bentall argues that we need a radically new way of thinking about psychosis and its treatment. Could it be that it is a fear of madness, rather than the madness itself, that is our problem?

A revised edition of Madness Explained, Richard Bentall's groundbreaking classic on mental illness

In Madness Explained, leading clinical psychologist Richard Bentall shatters the modern myths that surround psychosis. Is madness purely a medical condition that can be treated with drugs? Is there a clear dividing line between who is sane and who is insane? For this revised edition, he adds new material drawing on the recent advances in molecular genetics, new studies of the role of environment in psychosis, and important discoveries on early symptoms preceding illness, among other important developments in our understanding.

'Madness Explained is a substantial, yet highly accessible work. Full of insight and humanity, it deserves a wide readership.' Sunday Times

'Will give readers a glimpse both of answers to their own problems, and to questions about how the mind works' Independent Magazine

Richard P. Bentall holds a Chair in Experimental Clinical Psychology at the University of Manchester. In 1989 he received the British Psychological Society's May Davidson Award for his contribution to the field of Clinical Psychology.

Auteur

Richard P. Bentall holds a Chair in Experimental Clinical Psychology at the University of Manchester. In 1989 he received the British Psychological Society's May Davidson Award for his contribution to the field of Clinical Psychology.