Reading List

The Future of Mental Health Movement

THE FUTURE OF MENTAL HEALTH READING LIST

The following 100+ books constitute a substantial (though by no means complete) body of literature exploring the issues addressed by the Future of Mental Health Movement: the lack of legitimacy of the DSM and its labeling model, the differences between medication for illness and chemicals with effects, the epidemic of labeling children with “mental disorders,” the globalization of the American psychiatric model, the strengths and weaknesses of psychotherapy, alternative ways of helping individuals with emotional and mental distress, etc.

If you know of a book that you believe ought to be added to this list, please contact us.

All book descriptions are provided by the publisher, by the book’s author, or are Amazon’s description of the book.

Barber, Charles. Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation

Barber, Charles. Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating a Nation

Barrett, Louise. Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds

Barrett, Louise. Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds

Bass, Alison. Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial

Bass, Alison. Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial

Basset, Thurstine and Theo Stickley. Voices of Experience: Narratives of Mental Health Survivors

Basset, Thurstine and Theo Stickley. Voices of Experience: Narratives of Mental Health Survivors

Bentall, Richard.  Doctoring the Mind: Why Psychiatric Treatments Fail

Bentall, Richard. Doctoring the Mind: Why Psychiatric Treatments Fail

Bentall, Richard.  Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature

Bentall, Richard. Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature

Boyle, Mary. Schizophrenia: A Scientific Delusion?

Boyle, Mary. Schizophrenia: A Scientific Delusion?

Bracken, Patrick and Philip Thomas. Postpsychiatry: Mental Health in a Postmodern World

Bracken, Patrick and Philip Thomas. Postpsychiatry: Mental Health in a Postmodern World

Breggin, Peter. Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide, and Crime

Breggin, Peter. Medication Madness: The Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide, and Crime

Breggin, Peter. Toxic Psychiatry: Why Therapy, Empathy and Love Must Replace the Drugs, Electroshock, and Biochemical Theories of the “New Psychiatry”

Breggin, Peter. Toxic Psychiatry: Why Therapy, Empathy and Love Must Replace the Drugs, Electroshock, and Biochemical Theories of the “New Psychiatry”

Caplan, Paula. Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis

Caplan, Paula. Bias in Psychiatric Diagnosis

Caplan, Paula. They Say You’re Crazy: How the World’s Most Powerful Psychiatrists Decide Who’s Normal

Caplan, Paula. They Say You’re Crazy: How the World’s Most Powerful Psychiatrists Decide Who’s Normal

Carlat, Daniel. Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry

Carlat, Daniel. Unhinged: The Trouble with Psychiatry

Chamberlin, Judi. On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System

Chamberlin, Judi. On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System

Clifford, Terry. Tibetan Buddhist Medicine and Psychiatry: The Diamond Healing

Clifford, Terry. Tibetan Buddhist Medicine and Psychiatry: The Diamond Healing

Coles, Steven, Sarah Keenan and Bob Diamond. Madness Contested. Power and Practice

Coles, Steven, Sarah Keenan and Bob Diamond. Madness Contested. Power and Practice

Conrad, Peter. The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders

Conrad, Peter. The Medicalization of Society: On the Transformation of Human Conditions into Treatable Disorders

Cromby, John, David Harper and Paula Reavey.  Psychology, Mental Health and Distress

Cromby, John, David Harper and Paula Reavey. Psychology, Mental Health and Distress

Davies, James. Cracked: The Unhappy Truth About Psychiatry

Davies, James. Cracked: The Unhappy Truth About Psychiatry

Dawes, Robyn. House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth

Dawes, Robyn. House of Cards: Psychology and Psychotherapy Built on Myth

Dineen, Tana. Manufacturing Victims: What the Psychology Industry is Doing to People

Dineen, Tana. Manufacturing Victims: What the Psychology Industry is Doing to People

Falloon, Ian R.H., Grainne Fadden. Integrated Mental Health Care: A Comprehensive, Community-Based Approach

Falloon, Ian R.H., Grainne Fadden. Integrated Mental Health Care: A Comprehensive, Community-Based Approach

Fancher, Robert. Cultures of Healing: Correcting the Image of American Mental Health Care

Fancher, Robert. Cultures of Healing: Correcting the Image of American Mental Health Care

Fernando, Suman. Mental Health, Race and Culture

Fernando, Suman. Mental Health, Race and Culture

Fernando, Suman. Mental Health Worldwide: Culture, Globalization, and Development

Fernando, Suman. Mental Health Worldwide: Culture, Globalization, and Development

Fisher, Seymour and Roger Greenberg. From Placebo to Panacea: Putting Psychiatric Drugs to the Test

Fisher, Seymour and Roger Greenberg. From Placebo to Panacea: Putting Psychiatric Drugs to the Test

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

Fromm, Erich. The Sane Society

Fromm, Erich. The Sane Society

Geekie, Jim (editor). Experiencing Psychosis: Personal and Professional Perspectives

Geekie, Jim (editor). Experiencing Psychosis: Personal and Professional Perspectives

Geekie, Jim.  Making Sense of Madness: Contesting the Meaning of Schizophrenia

Geekie, Jim. Making Sense of Madness: Contesting the Meaning of Schizophrenia

Gnaulati, Enrico. Back to Normal: Why Ordinary Childhood Behavior is Mistaken for ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Gnaulati, Enrico. Back to Normal: Why Ordinary Childhood Behavior is Mistaken for ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Goldacre, Ben. Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients

Goldacre, Ben. Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients

Goldacre, Ben. Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks

Goldacre, Ben. Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks

Gotzsche, Peter. Deadly Medicines and Organized Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Healthcare

Gotzsche, Peter. Deadly Medicines and Organized Crime: How Big Pharma Has Corrupted Healthcare

Greenberg, Gary. The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry

Greenberg, Gary. The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry

Halliburton, Murphy. Mudpacks and Prozac: Experiencing Ayurvedic, Biomedical, and Religious Healing

Halliburton, Murphy. Mudpacks and Prozac: Experiencing Ayurvedic, Biomedical, and Religious Healing

Hammer, Leon. Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies: Psychology and Chinese Medicine

Hammer, Leon. Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies: Psychology and Chinese Medicine

Healy, David. Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression

Healy, David. Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression

Healy, David. Pharmageddon

Healy, David. Pharmageddon

Healy, David. The Creation of Psychopharmacology

Healy, David. The Creation of Psychopharmacology

Hobart, Angela. Healing Performances of Bali: Between Darkness and Light

Hobart, Angela. Healing Performances of Bali: Between Darkness and Light

Hornstein, Gail. Agnes’ Jacket: A Psychologist’s Search for the Meanings of Madness

Hornstein, Gail. Agnes’ Jacket: A Psychologist’s Search for the Meanings of Madness

Horwitz, Allan and Jerome Wakefield. The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Disorder

Horwitz, Allan and Jerome Wakefield. The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Disorder

House, Richard. Against and For CBT: Towards a Constructive Dialogue

House, Richard. Against and For CBT: Towards a Constructive Dialogue

Johnstone, Lucy. Formulation in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Making Sense of People’s Problems

Johnstone, Lucy. Formulation in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Making Sense of People’s Problems

Johnstone, Lucy. A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Diagnosis

Johnstone, Lucy. A Straight Talking Introduction to Psychiatric Diagnosis

Johnstone, Lucy. Users and Abusers of Psychiatry: A Critical Look at Psychiatric Practice

Johnstone, Lucy. Users and Abusers of Psychiatry: A Critical Look at Psychiatric Practice

Joseph, Jay. The Missing Gene: Psychiatry, Heredity, and the Fruitless Search for Genes

Joseph, Jay. The Missing Gene: Psychiatry, Heredity, and the Fruitless Search for Genes

Kakar, Sudhir. Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry Into India and its Healing Traditions

Kakar, Sudhir. Shamans, Mystics, and Doctors: A Psychological Inquiry Into India and its Healing Traditions

Kinderman, Peter. A Prescription for Psychiatry: Why We Need a Whole New Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing

Kinderman, Peter. A Prescription for Psychiatry: Why We Need a Whole New Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing

Kirk, Stuart, Tomi Gomory and David Cohen. Mad Science: Psychiatric Coercion, Diagnosis, and Drugs

Kirk, Stuart, Tomi Gomory and David Cohen. Mad Science: Psychiatric Coercion, Diagnosis, and Drugs

Kirk, Stuart. Mental Disorders in the Social Environment

Kirk, Stuart. Mental Disorders in the Social Environment

Kirsch, Irving. The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth

Kirsch, Irving. The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth

Kleinman, Arthur. Rethinking Psychiatry: From Cultural Category to Personal Experience

Kleinman, Arthur. Rethinking Psychiatry: From Cultural Category to Personal Experience

Kutchins, Herb and Stuart Kirk. Making Us Crazy: DSM: The Psychiatric Bible and the Creation of Mental Disorders

Kutchins, Herb and Stuart Kirk. Making Us Crazy: DSM: The Psychiatric Bible and the Creation of Mental Disorders

Laing, R. D. Politics of Experience

Laing, R. D. Politics of Experience

Laurance, Jeremy. Pure Madness: How Fear Drives the Mental Health System

Laurance, Jeremy. Pure Madness: How Fear Drives the Mental Health System

Levine, Bruce. Surviving America’s Depression Epidemic: How to Find Morale, Energy and Community in a World Gone Crazy

Levine, Bruce. Surviving America’s Depression Epidemic: How to Find Morale, Energy and Community in a World Gone Crazy

Lipsedge, Maurice and Roland Littlewood. Aliens and Alienists: Ethnic Minorities and Psychiatry

Lipsedge, Maurice and Roland Littlewood. Aliens and Alienists: Ethnic Minorities and Psychiatry

Lock, Andy and Tom Strong. Discursive Perspectives in Therapeutic Practice

Lock, Andy and Tom Strong. Discursive Perspectives in Therapeutic Practice

Luhrmann, Tania. Of Two Minds: An Anthropologist Looks at American Psychiatry

Luhrmann, Tania. Of Two Minds: An Anthropologist Looks at American Psychiatry

Maisel, Eric. Life Purpose Boot Camp

Maisel, Eric. Life Purpose Boot Camp

Maisel, Eric. Mastering Creative Anxiety

Maisel, Eric. Mastering Creative Anxiety

Maisel, Eric. Rethinking Depression: How to Shed Mental Health Labels and Create Personal Meaning

Maisel, Eric. Rethinking Depression: How to Shed Mental Health Labels and Create Personal Meaning

Maisel, Eric. Why Smart People Hurt

Maisel, Eric. Why Smart People Hurt

Masson, Jeffrey. Against Therapy: Emotional Tyranny and the Myth of Psychological Healing

Masson, Jeffrey. Against Therapy: Emotional Tyranny and the Myth of Psychological Healing

Metzl, Jonathan. The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease

Metzl, Jonathan. The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease

Mills, China. Decolonizing Global Mental Health: The Psychiatrization of the Majority World

Mills, China. Decolonizing Global Mental Health: The Psychiatrization of the Majority World

Moloney, Paul. The Therapy Industry: The Irresistible Rise of the Talking Cure and Why It Doesn’t Work

Moloney, Paul. The Therapy Industry: The Irresistible Rise of the Talking Cure and Why It Doesn’t Work

Moodley, Roy and William West. Integrating Traditional Healing Practices Into Counselling and Psychotherapy

Moodley, Roy and William West. Integrating Traditional Healing Practices Into Counselling and Psychotherapy

Moncrieff, Joanna. The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs

Moncrieff, Joanna. The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs

Moncrieff, Joanna. The Myth of the Chemical Cure: A Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment

Moncrieff, Joanna. The Myth of the Chemical Cure: A Critique of Psychiatric Drug Treatment

Moncrieff, Joanna. A Straight Talking Guide to Psychiatric Drugs

Moncrieff, Joanna. A Straight Talking Guide to Psychiatric Drugs

Moskowitz, Andrew, Ingo Shafer and Martin Justin Dorahy. Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation: Emerging Perspectives on Severe Psychopathology

Moskowitz, Andrew, Ingo Shafer and Martin Justin Dorahy. Psychosis, Trauma and Dissociation: Emerging Perspectives on Severe Psychopathology

Neimeyer, Robert and Jonathan Raskin. Constructions of Disorder: Meaning-Making Frameworks for Psychotherapy

Neimeyer, Robert and Jonathan Raskin. Constructions of Disorder: Meaning-Making Frameworks for Psychotherapy

Newnes, Craig and Cailzie Dunn. This is Madness: A Critical Look at Psychiatry and the Future of Mental Health Services

Newnes, Craig and Cailzie Dunn. This is Madness: A Critical Look at Psychiatry and the Future of Mental Health Services

Newnes, Craig. This is Madness Too: Critical Perspectives on Mental Health Services

Newnes, Craig. This is Madness Too: Critical Perspectives on Mental Health Services

Parker, Ian, Eugenie Georgaca, et al. Deconstructing Psychopathology

Parker, Ian, Eugenie Georgaca, et al. Deconstructing Psychopathology

Parker, Ian. Psychology After the Crisis: Scientific Paradigms and Political Debate

Parker, Ian. Psychology After the Crisis: Scientific Paradigms and Political Debate

Pembroke, Louise. Self-Harm: Perspectives From Personal Experience

Pembroke, Louise. Self-Harm: Perspectives From Personal Experience

Pilgrim, David. Psychotherapy and Society

Pilgrim, David. Psychotherapy and Society

Pilgrim, David, Richard Bentall, et al. Straight Talking Guide to Psychological Treatments for Mental Health Problems

Pilgrim, David, Richard Bentall, et al. Straight Talking Guide to Psychological Treatments for Mental Health Problems

Power, Mick. Madness Cracked

Power, Mick. Madness Cracked

Rao, Anthony and Michelle Seaton. The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys

Rao, Anthony and Michelle Seaton. The Way of Boys: Promoting the Social and Emotional Development of Young Boys

Rapley, Mark, Joanna Moncrieff and Jacqui Dillon. De-Medicalizing Misery: Psychiatry, Psychology and the Human Condition

Rapley, Mark, Joanna Moncrieff and Jacqui Dillon. De-Medicalizing Misery: Psychiatry, Psychology and the Human Condition

Read, John and Jacqui Dillon. Models of Madness: Psychological, Social and Biological Approaches to Madness

Read, John and Jacqui Dillon. Models of Madness: Psychological, Social and Biological Approaches to Madness

Romme, Marcus, Sandra Escher, et al. Living with Voices: 50 Stories of Recovery

Romme, Marcus, Sandra Escher, et al. Living with Voices: 50 Stories of Recovery

Romme, Marcus and Sandra Escher. Psychosis as a Personal Crisis: An Experienced-Based Approach

Romme, Marcus and Sandra Escher. Psychosis as a Personal Crisis: An Experienced-Based Approach

Rosemond, John and Bose Ravenel. The Diseasing of America’s Children: Exposing the ADHD Fiasco and Empowering Parents to Take Back Control

Rosemond, John and Bose Ravenel. The Diseasing of America’s Children: Exposing the ADHD Fiasco and Empowering Parents to Take Back Control

Ross, Colin and Alvin Pam. Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry: Blaming the Body

Ross, Colin and Alvin Pam. Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry: Blaming the Body

Shannon, Scott. Please Don’t Label My Child

Shannon, Scott. Please Don’t Label My Child

Shannon, Scott. Parenting the Whole Child

Shannon, Scott. Parenting the Whole Child

Shannon, Scott. Mental Health for the Whole Child

Shannon, Scott. Mental Health for the Whole Child

Sinaikin, Phillip. Psychiatryland: How To Protect Yourself from Pill-Pushing Psychiatrists and Develop a Personal Plan for Optimal Mental Health

Sinaikin, Phillip. Psychiatryland: How To Protect Yourself from Pill-Pushing Psychiatrists and Develop a Personal Plan for Optimal Mental Health

Smail, David. Power, Interest and Psychology

Smail, David. Power, Interest and Psychology

Smail, David. Why Therapy Isn’t Working: And What To Do About It!

Smail, David. Why Therapy Isn’t Working: And What To Do About It!

Sutherland, Patsy and Roy Moodley. Caribbean Healing Traditions: Implications for Health and Mental Health

Sutherland, Patsy and Roy Moodley. Caribbean Healing Traditions: Implications for Health and Mental Health

Szasz, Thomas: The Manufacture of Madness

Szasz, Thomas: The Manufacture of Madness

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

Szasz, Thomas. The Myth of Mental Illness

Tew, Jerry. Social Approaches to Mental Distress

Tew, Jerry. Social Approaches to Mental Distress

Timimi, Sami and Begum Maitra. Critical Voices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Timimi, Sami and Begum Maitra. Critical Voices in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Timimi, Sami. Naughty Boys: Anti-Social Behaviour, ADHD, and the Role of Culture

Timimi, Sami. Naughty Boys: Anti-Social Behaviour, ADHD, and the Role of Culture

Timimi, Sami. Pathological Child Psychiatry and the Medicalization of Childhood

Timimi, Sami. Pathological Child Psychiatry and the Medicalization of Childhood

Timimi, Sami. A Straight Talking Introduction to Children’s Mental Health Problems

Timimi, Sami. A Straight Talking Introduction to Children’s Mental Health Problems

Thomas, Philip. Psychiatry in Context: Experience, Meaning and Communities

Thomas, Philip. Psychiatry in Context: Experience, Meaning and Communities

Valenstein, Elliot. Blaming the Brain: The Truth About Drugs and Mental Health

Valenstein, Elliot. Blaming the Brain: The Truth About Drugs and Mental Health

Wampold, Bruce. The Great Psychotherapy Debate: The Evidence For What Makes Psychotherapy Work

Wampold, Bruce. The Great Psychotherapy Debate: The Evidence For What Makes Psychotherapy Work

Watters, Ethan. Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche

Watters, Ethan. Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche

Whitaker, Robert. Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

Whitaker, Robert. Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

Whitaker, Robert. Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill

Whitaker, Robert. Mad in America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and the Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill

Whitely, Martin. Speed Up & Sit Still: The Controversies of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment

Whitely, Martin. Speed Up & Sit Still: The Controversies of ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment

Williams, Paris. Rethinking Madness: Towards a Paradigm Shift in our Understanding of Psychosis

Williams, Paris. Rethinking Madness: Towards a Paradigm Shift in our Understanding of Psychosis