Alastair Morgan is a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, UK. He has worked in the mental health field for a number of years, and is also a trained philosopher with a particular interest in Critical Theory and the philosophy of T.W. Adorno. His publications include Adorno's Concept of Life (Bloomsbury Press), and he is co-author of Values and Ethics in Mental Health: An exploration for practice ( Palgrave MacMillan, forthcoming, 2015).

As a mental health professional who struggles to practice within a culture and mental health services in which the dominant discourses revolve around the medical model, it is immensely refreshing to read a range of voices from across several professional disciplines (e.g. philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, history and literature) that are keen to understand mental distress in a different and more holistic way. Actually, it is refreshing, simply, to read of an attempt to create spaces to think and 'reflect in an atmosphere of genuine enquiry and dialogue' (Morgan p1). This commitment to thinking and dialogue in a spirit of openness and exploration made a significant impact on me. Rachel Freeth, Psychiatrist, Ipnosis No 33, 2008.

• Introduction. Alastair Morgan Part One: Understanding and Representing Mental Distress1. Feelings, Beliefs and Being Human. John Cromby2. Towards a Critical Perspective on A"Narrative LossA" in Schizophrenia. Phil Thomas3. Constructions, Reconstructions and Deconstructions of Mental Health. Ian Parker4. The Authority of Lived Experience. Alastair Morgan5. Philosophy and Psyche: What can philosophy tell psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy? Miles Clapha Part Two: Symptoms in Society6. The role of Tricksters in Challenging Psychiatry. Helen Spandler7. Writing From the Asylum: A Re-Assessment of Female Patients in the History of Psychiatry In France. Susannah Wilson8. Mirrors of Shame: the Act of Shaming and the Spectacle of Female Shame. Jocelyn Catty9. Symptoms in Society. The Cultural Significance of Fatigue in Victorian Society. Chris Ward10. Artaud's Madness: The Absence of Work? Patrick CallaghanPart Three: Critical Reflections on Practice11. A Phenomenological Encounter: Prelude to a Mental Health Assessment in a Magistrates Cells. Dave R. Wilson12. Opening up Space for Dissension: A Questioning Psychology. Bob Diamond13. Clinical Psychology and Truth. David Smail

Alastair Morgan is a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, UK. He has worked in the mental health field for a number of years, and is also a trained philosopher with a particular interest in Critical Theory and the philosophy of T.W. Adorno. His publications include Adorno's Concept of Life (Bloomsbury Press), and he is co-author of Values and Ethics in Mental Health: An exploration for practice ( Palgrave MacMillan, forthcoming, 2015).

As a mental health professional who struggles to practice within a culture and mental health services in which the dominant discourses revolve around the medical model, it is immensely refreshing to read a range of voices from across several professional disciplines (e.g. philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, history and literature) that are keen to understand mental distress in a different and more holistic way. Actually, it is refreshing, simply, to read of an attempt to create spaces to think and 'reflect in an atmosphere of genuine enquiry and dialogue' (Morgan p1). This commitment to thinking and dialogue in a spirit of openness and exploration made a significant impact on me. Rachel Freeth, Psychiatrist, Ipnosis No 33, 2008.

• Introduction. Alastair Morgan Part One: Understanding and Representing Mental Distress1. Feelings, Beliefs and Being Human. John Cromby2. Towards a Critical Perspective on A"Narrative LossA" in Schizophrenia. Phil Thomas3. Constructions, Reconstructions and Deconstructions of Mental Health. Ian Parker4. The Authority of Lived Experience. Alastair Morgan5. Philosophy and Psyche: What can philosophy tell psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy? Miles Clapha Part Two: Symptoms in Society6. The role of Tricksters in Challenging Psychiatry. Helen Spandler7. Writing From the Asylum: A Re-Assessment of Female Patients in the History of Psychiatry In France. Susannah Wilson8. Mirrors of Shame: the Act of Shaming and the Spectacle of Female Shame. Jocelyn Catty9. Symptoms in Society. The Cultural Significance of Fatigue in Victorian Society. Chris Ward10. Artaud's Madness: The Absence of Work? Patrick CallaghanPart Three: Critical Reflections on Practice11. A Phenomenological Encounter: Prelude to a Mental Health Assessment in a Magistrates Cells. Dave R. Wilson12. Opening up Space for Dissension: A Questioning Psychology. Bob Diamond13. Clinical Psychology and Truth. David Smail

Alastair Morgan is a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester, UK. He has worked in the mental health field for a number of years, and is also a trained philosopher with a particular interest in Critical Theory and the philosophy of T.W. Adorno. His publications include Adorno's Concept of Life (Bloomsbury Press), and he is co-author of Values and Ethics in Mental Health: An exploration for practice ( Palgrave MacMillan, forthcoming, 2015).

As a mental health professional who struggles to practice within a culture and mental health services in which the dominant discourses revolve around the medical model, it is immensely refreshing to read a range of voices from across several professional disciplines (e.g. philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, history and literature) that are keen to understand mental distress in a different and more holistic way. Actually, it is refreshing, simply, to read of an attempt to create spaces to think and 'reflect in an atmosphere of genuine enquiry and dialogue' (Morgan p1). This commitment to thinking and dialogue in a spirit of openness and exploration made a significant impact on me. Rachel Freeth, Psychiatrist, Ipnosis No 33, 2008.

• Introduction. Alastair Morgan Part One: Understanding and Representing Mental Distress1. Feelings, Beliefs and Being Human. John Cromby2. Towards a Critical Perspective on A"Narrative LossA" in Schizophrenia. Phil Thomas3. Constructions, Reconstructions and Deconstructions of Mental Health. Ian Parker4. The Authority of Lived Experience. Alastair Morgan5. Philosophy and Psyche: What can philosophy tell psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy? Miles Clapha Part Two: Symptoms in Society6. The role of Tricksters in Challenging Psychiatry. Helen Spandler7. Writing From the Asylum: A Re-Assessment of Female Patients in the History of Psychiatry In France. Susannah Wilson8. Mirrors of Shame: the Act of Shaming and the Spectacle of Female Shame. Jocelyn Catty9. Symptoms in Society. The Cultural Significance of Fatigue in Victorian Society. Chris Ward10. Artaud's Madness: The Absence of Work? Patrick CallaghanPart Three: Critical Reflections on Practice11. A Phenomenological Encounter: Prelude to a Mental Health Assessment in a Magistrates Cells. Dave R. Wilson12. Opening up Space for Dissension: A Questioning Psychology. Bob Diamond13. Clinical Psychology and Truth. David Smail