Shunned

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry For those interested in mental health policy on a global perspective, this book is essential. For all of us with the nagging sense that life for our patients is even harder than it needs to be, this book provides ample evidence that our suspicions are both shared and justified. In the end, Shunned is a politcally thoughtful and measured call to arms. The time is now.

...an important contribution to the literature in an area of concern that is likely to receive increasing attention. s

BMA Medical Book Competition 2007 Once a person is labelled a mentally ill, their decision-making ability is called into question and protests against treatments are either discredited or labelled as one more symptom of mental illness. ... The solution is not seen as lessening stigma but as ensuring people labelled as mentally ill retain the right as citizens to challenge the label and their treatment as well as the right to retain basic control over their lives Perhaps from this recognition, a civil rights movement may grow, dedicated to the liberation of people with mental illness from being marginalised, from being excluded and from being shunned.

British Journal of Social Work ...an excellent text that should be pat of required reading for all social and health care professionals. Shunned is overflowing with research, quotes, and other material that make it an invaluable resource to have on the bookshelf.

Mental Health Today ...one of the most wide-ranging examinations of stigma in print...Gathering together personal stories with published evidence from every continent about people's experience of discrimination, Thornicroft builds a three-dimensional picture of the impact of ignorance, prejudice and discrimination on every aspect of the daily lives of people with mental health problems.

Doody's Notes Anyone treating people with psychiatric conditions should read this book to provide a greater understanding of the challeneges those with mental illness face day after day.

<br>Graham Thornicroft is Professor of Community Psychiatry, and Head of the multi-disciplinary Health Service Research Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. He is a Consultant Psychiatrist and is Director of Research and Development at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. He chaired the External Reference Group for the National Service Framework for Mental Health in England. His areas of research expertise include: stigma and discrimination, mental health needs assessment, the development of outcome scales, cost-effectiveness evaluation of mental health treatments, and service user and consumer participation in mental health research. He is the author of 19 books and over 160 scientific papers.<br>

Introduction; 1. Close to home: family, housing and neighbours; 2. Getting personal: friendships, intimate relationships and childcare; 3. It's not working: discrimination and employment; 4. By a process of exclusion: discrimination in civil and social life; 5. Harmful helpers: discrimination in health and social care; 6. Profiting from prejudice: mental illness in the media; 7. Danger or disinformation: the facts about violence and mental illness; 8. 'Why try?' Self-stigmatisation, avoidance and withdrawal; 9. From stigma to ignorance, prejudice and discrimination; 10. What works to reduce discrimination? Challenges for service users; 11. What works to reduce discrimination? Challenges for everyone