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This book explores how people encounter, understand, live with and respond to health risks associated with social, economic and political inequality. Complementing a traditional public health approach, the book moves beyond a focus on categories of morbidity and their structural causes. Instead, it focuses on everyday understandings and actions for people living in unequal social conditions. Making use of a variety of case studies related to physical and mental health, the authors emphasise interpersonal relationships, biographical meanings and the daily tactics of ‘getting by'. These are recurrently linked to the social-structural aspects of particular times and places.The book: Draws upon, applies and extends the biopsychosocial approach, which is well known to students of public health. Respects and gives due weight to the experience in context of people who live with health inequalities, in domestic and local settings. Explores notions of personal agency and the contingencies of everyday life, in order to offer a focused psycho-social compliment to a public health tradition dominated by top-down reasoning. This is an important read for all those seeking to understand the complexities of health inequalities holistically in their studies, research and practice. The book brings together thinking in the fields of public health, sociology, mental health and social policy.The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

This is the first dedicated text to explain and explore the utility of critical realism for psychologists, offering it as a helpful middle ground between positivism and postmodernism. By introducing its basic concepts, Pilgrim explains critical realism to psychologists and shows how the interface between the natural and social worlds, and the internal and external, can be used to examine human life. This both/and aspect of human life is important in another sense: we are both determined and determining beings, making choices but within the material constraints of both our bodies and the social context of our unique existence. The book offers an exploration of academic and applied psychology with that inward and outward curiosity in mind, beginning with the premise that both inner and outer reality are the legitimate interest of psychologists. In doing so, it shows how critical realism endorses the remaining advantages of positivism and postmodernism, while discarding their philosophical errors. A range of case studies are presented to show how psychologists can use critical realism when working with real life problems, as researchers or practitioners.

Between 1910 and the mid-1920s, more than sixty black students from the South bravely traveled north to Ferris Institute, a small, mostly white school in Big Rapids, Michigan. They came to enroll in college programs and college preparatory courses—and to escape, if only temporarily, the daily and ubiquitous indignities suffered under the Jim Crow racial hierarchy. They excelled in their studies and became accomplished in their professional fields. Many went on to both ignite and help lead the explosive civil rights movement. Very few people know their stories—until now. Haste to Rise is a book about the incredible resilience and breathtaking accomplishments of those students. It was written to unearth, contextualize, and share their stories and important lessons with this generation. Along the way we are introduced to dozens of these Jim Crow–era students, including the first African American to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Belford Lawson, the lead attorney in New Negro Alliance v. Sanitary Grocery Co. (1938), a landmark court battle that safeguarded the right to picket. We also meet one of Lawson's contemporaries, Percival L. Prattis, a pioneering journalist and influential newspaper executive. In 1947, he became the first African American news correspondent admitted to the U.S. House and Senate press galleries. There is also an in-depth look into the life and work of the institute's founder, Woodbridge Nathan Ferris, a racial justice pioneer who created educational opportunities for women, international students, and African Americans. Haste to Rise is a challenge to others to look beyond a university's official history and seek a more complete knowledge of its past. This is American history done right!

How do we understand mental health problems in their social context?A former BMA Medical Book of the Year award winner, this book provides a sociological analysis of major areas of mental health and illness. The book considers contemporary and historical aspects of sociology, social psychiatry, policy and therapeutic law to help students develop an in-depth and critical approach to this complex subject. New developments for the sixth edition include:•Brand new chapter on aging and older people•Updated material on social class, ethnicity, user involvement, young people and adolescence•New coverage on prisons legalism and the rise of digital mental health management and deliveryA classic in its field, this well-established textbook offers a rich, contemporary and well-crafted overview of mental health and illness unrivalled by competitors and is essential reading for students and professionals studying a range of medical sociology and health-related courses. It is also highly suitable for trainee mental health workers in the fields of social work, nursing, clinical psychology and psychiatry.This classic text book has for many years provided the definitive sociological lens with which to understand the range of conceptual approaches to understanding mental ‘illness'in the historical journey from madness to emotional health and the complex interdisciplinary challenges of providing appropriate care or treatment to human distress and suffering. This updated edition continues to provide illuminating insights and clarifications not only for students but for academic researchers and scholars at all levels.Gillian Bendelow, Professor in Sociology of Health and Medicine, School of Applied Social Science, University of BrightonA Sociology of Mental Health and Illness is a sociological classic – for three decades now it has been essential reading for all sociologists (and other social scientists) wishing to learn more about mental (ill-)health and society, be they students or professional teachers and researchers. It has also long been a beacon, and will continue to guide, mental health practitioners keen to better understand and engage with the social dimensions of their work. A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness is an incomparable resource. Professor Martyn Pickersgill, University of Edinburgh, UKThe relationship between sociology and mental health has been well documented over the years. Social factors such as poverty, social stress, socioeconomic disadvantages, inequality, social exclusion have been implicated for increased rates of mental health problems. Unfortunately, psychiatry has not engaged sufficiently with sociology. “A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness” has covered this disparity. The sixth edition is a most welcome addition updating social trends and new sociological material relevant to mental health, more emphasis on service users'participation and the emerged evidence base. It is a classic that should be an essential reading for all mental health professionals.Nick Bouras, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience Anne Rogers is Professor of Medical Sociology & Health Systems Implementation at the University of Southampton.David Pilgrim is Visiting Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Southampton.

Child sexual abuse is a major public policy challenge. Many child protection measures were beginning to reduce its occurrence. However, that progress was impeded by online grooming, the downloading of indecent images of children and even their abuse online in real time. This now places major demands on national and international policing. The book brings together groundbreaking case studies from a wide range of settings. As well as family members and those near the home, offenders can also be found in religious, sporting and childcare settings. This extensive picture is drawn deliberately in order to highlight a split in the academic analysis of child sexual abuse. The mainstream or orthodox view, defended by the author, is that child sexual abuse is an under-reported crime. However, a minority view, presented but criticised, is that it is a moral panic created by public hysteria, child protection experts and campaigning politicians. By the end of the book, this division of academic opinion and its implications for public policy are explored in detail.The book is essential reading for anyone interested in preventing child sexual abuse and the dilemmas of responding to both victims and perpetrators. It will be of particular use to practitioners in social work, the police and in the mental health professions.

All groups tell stories, but some groups have the power to impose their stories on others, to label others, stigmatize others, paint others as undesirables—and to have these stories presented as scientific fact, God's will, or wholesome entertainment. Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors examines the origins and significance of several longstanding antiblack stories and the caricatures and stereotypes that support them. Here readers will find representations of the lazy, childlike Sambo, the watermelon-obsessed pickaninny, the buffoonish minstrel, the subhuman savage, the loyal and contented mammy and Tom, and the menacing, razor-toting coon and brute. Malcolm X and James Baldwin both refused to eat watermelon in front of white people. They were aware of the jokes and other stories about African Americans stealing watermelons, fighting over watermelons, even being transformed into watermelons. Did racial stories influence the actions of white fraternities and sororities who dressed in blackface and mocked black culture, or employees who hung nooses in their workplaces? What stories did the people who refer to Serena Williams and other dark-skinned athletes as apes or baboons hear? Is it possible that a white South Carolina police officer who shot a fleeing black man had never heard stories about scary black men with straight razors or other weapons? Antiblack stories still matter. Watermelons, Nooses, and Straight Razors uses images from the Jim Crow Museum, the nation's largest publicly accessible collection of racist objects. These images are evidence of the social injustice that Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as “a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be exposed to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured.” Each chapter concludes with a story from the author's journey, challenging the integrity of racial narratives.

David Pilgrim PhD is Professor of Health & Social Policy in the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool.

For many people, especially those who came of age after landmark civil rights legislation was passed, it is difficult to understand what it was like to be an African American living under Jim Crow segregation in the United States. Most young Americans have little or no knowledge about restrictive covenants, literacy tests, poll taxes, lynchings, and other oppressive features of the Jim Crow racial hierarchy. Even those who have some familiarity with the period may initially view racist segregation and injustices as mere relics of a distant, shameful past. A proper understanding of race relations in this country must include a solid knowledge of Jim Crow—how it emerged, what it was like, how it ended, and its impact on the culture. Understanding Jim Crow introduces readers to the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia, a collection of more than ten thousand contemptible collectibles that are used to engage visitors in intense and intelligent discussions about race, race relations, and racism. The items are offensive. They were meant to be offensive. The items in the Jim Crow Museum served to dehumanize blacks and legitimized patterns of prejudice, discrimination, and segregation. Using racist objects as teaching tools seems counterintuitive—and, quite frankly, needlessly risky. Many Americans are already apprehensive discussing race relations, especially in settings where their ideas are challenged. The museum and this book exist to help overcome our collective trepidation and reluctance to talk about race. Fully illustrated, and with context provided by the museum's founder and director David Pilgrim, Understanding Jim Crow is both a grisly tour through America's past and an auspicious starting point for racial understanding and healing.

Originally published in 1983, fifteen well-known psychologists and psychotherapists write about their personal interests to give the reader a vivid picture of the complexities of psychotherapy in Britain at the time. They explore aspects of the interaction and intersection of the psychological and psychotherapeutic worlds, paying particular attention to the practical and theoretical controversies involved in this overlap.The first half of the book concerns itself with problems of theory and practice in psychology and psychotherapy, while the second half deals with professional conflicts and political issues impinging upon the practice of psychotherapy by psychologists. Areas of concern and controversy that are scrutinised include the problematic relationship between academic psychology and psychotherapy; doubts and certainties in psychotherapy; the psychology of helping; the relevance of the psychodynamic tradition; inter-professional disputes; women and psychotherapy; and social class issues in psychotherapy.

How do we understand mental health problems in their social context? A former BMA Medical Book of the Year award winner, this book provides a sociological analysis of major areas of mental health and illness. The book considers contemporary and historical aspects of sociology, social psychiatry, policy and therapeutic law to help students develop an in-depth and critical approach to this complex subject.New developments for the fifth edition include:Brand new chapter on prisons, criminal justice and mental healthExpanded coverage of stigma, class and social networksUpdated material on the Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act and the Deprivation of LibertyA classic in its field, this well established textbook offers a rich and well-crafted overview of mental health and illness unrivalled by competitors and is essential reading for students and professionals studying a range of medical sociology and health-related courses. It is also highly suitable for trainee mental health workers in the fields of social work, nursing, clinical psychology and psychiatry.'Rogers and Pilgrim go from strength to strength! This fifth edition of their classic text is not only a sociology but also a psychology, a philosophy, a history and a polity. It combines rigorous scholarship with radical argument to produce incisive perspectives on the major contemporary questions concerning mental health and illness. The authors admirably balance judicious presentation of the range of available understandings with clear articulation of their own positions on key issues. This book is essential reading for everyone involved in mental health work.'Christopher Dowrick, Professor of Primary Medical Care, University of Liverpool, UK'Pilgrim and Rogers have for the last twenty years given us the key text in the sociology of mental health and illness. Each edition has captured the multi-layered and ever changing landscape of theory and practice around psychiatry and mental health, providing an essential tool for teachers and researchers, and much loved by students for the dexterity in combining scope and accessibility. This latest volume, with its focus on community mental health, user movements criminal justice and the need for inter-agency working, alongside the more classical sociological critiques around social theories and social inequalities, demonstrates more than ever that sociological perspectives are crucial in the understanding and explanation of mental and emotional healthcare and practice, hence its audience extends across the related disciplines to everyone who is involved in this highly controversial and socially relevant arena.'Gillian Bendelow, School of Law Politics and Sociology, University of Sussex, UK'From the classic bedrock studies to contemporary sociological perspectives on the current controversy over which scientific organizations will define diagnosis, Rogers and Pilgrim provide a comprehensive, readable and elegant overview of how social factors shape the onset and response to mental health and mental illness. Their sociological vision embraces historical, professional and socio-cultural context and processes as they shape the lives of those in the community and those who provide care; the organizations mandated to deliver services and those that have ended up becoming unsuitable substitutes; and the successful and unsuccessful efforts to improve the lives through science, challenge and law.'Bernice Pescosolido, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Indiana University, USA

For most of us, the term'recovery'in mental health implies hope and normality for those suffering from emotional distress. It is understandable why recovery has therefore become a significant goal for mental health services.But what does recovery mean for those who are struggling to see it through? Is the emphasis on recovery always a positive thing. This book takes a critical sociological look at personal and public assumptions and understandings. In particular:- It explores what the recovery movement signifies today, offering readers a critical, reflexive view of its scientific, policy and political consequences- It considers what recovery means from social, medical and patient perspectives, and the implications of these conflicting views- It reveals some of the risks and benefits for people with mental health problems encountering a system that expects them to recoverOffering a comprehensive and thought-provoking overview of the concept of recovery from mental illness, this book is a must-have for students studying mental health across a range of subjects, including sociology, social work, psychology and nursing.

The emergence of Thatcherism around 1980, which ushered in a period of neo-liberalism in British politics that still resonates today, led musicians, like other artists, to respond to their context of production. This book uses the early work of one of these musicians, Elvis Costello, to explore the relationship between popular music and politics in one historical period. It is not a biography but an exploration of the interaction between a creative musician's works and their context of constraint and opportunity. Pilgrim and Ormrod unpack the political meaning of Thatcherism and deal with matters arising in that political context about Costello's life but which had resonance for many others at the time (and still do). These topics include the politics of race, class, gender and ageing, emphasising the recurring theme of nostalgia in modern and post-modern life. Throughout the book examples are provided of Costello's songs and how they work musically to illustrate or stimulate the contextual discussion. The book will be of significant interest to musicologists, sociologists and social psychologists.

The SAGE Handbook of Mental Health and Illness is a landmark volume, which integrates the conceptual, empirical and evidence-based threads of mental health as an area of study, research and practice. It approaches mental health from two perspectives - firstly as a positive state of well-being and personal and social functioning and secondly as psychological difference or abnormality in its social context. Unique features include: - a broad and inclusive view of the field, providing depth and breadth for the reader - a team of international, multi-disciplinary editors and contributors, and - discussion of the many of the unresolved debates in the field about constructs and causes. The Handbook will be an invaluable resource for postgraduate students, academics and researchers studying mental health in disciplines such as psychiatry, clinical psychology, social work, occupational therapy, nursing and sociology.

On the part of the patient, healthcare demands unconditional trust in the professional. But what is the nature of this trust, and to what extent is it justified? How significant is the fallout when it is abused?Incorporating sociological, psychological and philosophical approaches, this book examines notions of trust in the self, others and systems inthe field of healthcare. The text explores:- Rational and emotional aspects of trust power balances between the patient and healthcare professional- Historical crises of trust in healthcare, considering the impacts and- The lessons learned means of strengthening public trust in the healthcare system and its workforce- Distinctive in its breadth and coverage, Examining Trust in Healthcare- Provides a multidisciplinary perspective of a key element of patient care. This makes the book fundamental reading for students, academics and professionals across all branches of healthcare, as well as an important resource for those with professional and academic interests in the psychology and sociology of health.

A Short Introduction to Clinical Psychology gives an accessible overview of the field for psychology students and anyone considering training as a clinical psychologist. Setting out the theoretical and practical dimensions of clinical psychology, the authors examine its origins, knowledge base and applications with different client groups, in different contexts and through different modalities (individuals, groups, couples, families and organizations). They also highlight issues affecting everyday practice - from professional relationships to government policy. Drawing on the first-hand experiences of people who have recently qualified, the book describes the process of training and the transition that takes place from trainee to practitioner. Throughout, the book captures a sense of clinical psychology as a dynamic and changing field which has grown up fast alongside other more established professions involved in mental health care and which is continuing to evolve in response to contemporary needs. As an overview of the field, A Short Introduction to Clinical Psychology is an ideal text for undergraduate and post-graduate students in psychology and as initial reading for clinical psychology courses.

Accessible, entertaining and ultimately optimistic, this book deserves to become a core text for planners, managers and all those working in the field'- Cathy Pelikan. How do psychiatric patients understand their difficulties? What do they say about professionals paid to care for them? Do they really get treated well and enjoy informed consent? These are some of the questions answered by Experiencing Psychiatry. For the first time in Britain this book offers evidence from a large survey of the views of users of psychiatric services. The picture which emerges may surprise readers who have no experience of psychiatry. It will stimulate debate amongst those who make and deliver mental health policy. In particular it challenges the existing model of care and raises wider questions about citizenship for those with mental health problems.