MTU Library Catalogue

Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

The social nature of mental illness / Len Bowers.

By: Bowers, Len, 1955-.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: London : Routledge, 2000Description: x, 216 p. ; 23 cm.ISBN: 0415227771; 9780415227773.Subject(s): Mental illness -- Etiology -- Social aspects | Mental illness | Psychology, Pathological | Social perception | Health and Wellbeing | Social psychology | Disability: social aspects | Sociology | Psychological theory & schools of thought | Psychotherapy | PsychiatryDDC classification: 616.89 BOW Summary: This text is a critical scrutiny of the issue of whether mental illness is a physiological brain disorder or a disorder that is socially defined.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Psychiatrists assert that mental illness is a physiological brain disorder. The anti-psychiatry movement refutes this on grounds of lack of evidence claiming that mental illness is socially defined. Len Bowers offers a rational, objective and philosophical critique of the theories of mental illness as a social construct and concludes that, though sometimes misguided, they cannot be wholly rejected. This critical scrutiny of a controversial and keenly-debated issue will be of interest to psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, sociologists and professionals in paramedical disciplines.

First published: London : Routledge, 1998.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [200] -210) and indexes.

This text is a critical scrutiny of the issue of whether mental illness is a physiological brain disorder or a disorder that is socially defined.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Leonard
  • 1 Introduction
  • 2 Deviance
  • 3 Rules
  • 4 Culture
  • 5 Diagnosis
  • 6 History
  • 7 Politics*
  • Illness
  • 9 Physiology
  • 10 Social Construct
  • Bibliography
  • Name Index
  • Subject Index