Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

An easy to read, jargon-free introduction to mental health, this practical guide is written for qualified and non-qualified practitioners.

The authors explain key concepts in easily understandable language, accessible even to those with no prior knowledge of the subject. They detail the major mental health disorders and the issues and implications surrounding them, and include separate chapters on personality disorder, dual diagnosis and self-harm. They provide in-depth practical information on:

* the Mental Health Act

* diagnosis and medication

* risk assessment and management.

This guide is full of useful information, practical suggestions, and strategies for anyone working with people who are experiencing mental illness. It will prove invaluable to housing workers, support workers, probation officers, prison health care officers, student nurses and anyone coming in to contact with mental health issues.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Foreword (p. 11)
• Introduction: A Note from the Authors (p. 13)
• Using this book (p. 14)
• 1 Severe Mental Illness (p. 15)
• Schizophrenia (p. 16)
• Bipolar disorder (p. 22)
• Depression (p. 28)
• References (p. 31)
• Useful resources (p. 32)
• Case notes: Elizabeth (p. 34)
• Case notes: Richard (p. 37)
• Case notes: John (p. 39)
• Handout 1.1 Measuring mental health (p. 40)
• Handout 1.2 Illness or disorder? (p. 42)
• Handout 1.3 Psychosis (p. 43)
• Handout 1.4 The anti-psychiatry movement (p. 44)
• Handout 1.5 Early warning signs (p. 46)
• Handout 1.6 Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (p. 47)
• Handout 1.7 Neurotransmitters (p. 48)
• Summary 1 Mental health (p. 50)
• Summary 2 Schizophrenia (p. 51)
• Summary 3 Schizophrenia: causes(aetiology) (p. 52)
• Summary 4 Bipolar disorder (p. 53)
• Summary 5 Depression (unipolar) (p. 54)
• 2 Treatment and Support (p. 55)
• Medication (p. 55)
• Talking treatments (p. 61)
• The professionals: health, social and the non-statutory services (p. 62)
• References (p. 66)
• Useful resources (p. 66)
• Handout 2.1 The National Health Service and mental health: primary, secondary or tertiary? (p. 68)
• Handout 2.2 The care programme approach (p. 69)
• Summary 1 Medication (p. 70)
• Summary 2 Talking treatments (p. 71)
• Summary 3 The professionals: community mental health teams (p. 72)
• Summary 4 The professionals: non-statutory services (p. 74)
• 3 Risk Assessment and Management (p. 75)
• What is risk assessment? (p. 76)
• Identifying risk factors (p. 76)
• Managing risk (p. 80)
• References (p. 81)
• Useful resources (p. 82)
• Case notes: Jenny (p. 83)
• Handout 3.1 First contact (p. 86)
• Handout 3.2 Confidentiality (p. 88)
• Handout 3.3 ORCAS (Ongoing, Reviewed, Communicated and Simple) (p. 90)
• Summary Risk assessment and management (p. 91)
• 4 Working with Dual Diagnosis (p. 92)
• Why do mentally ill people drink and take drugs? (p. 94)
• Helping people with dual diagnosis (p. 95)
• The dual diagnosis toolkit (p. 99)
• References (p. 100)
• Useful resources (p. 101)
• Case notes: Wayne (p. 102)
• Summary 1 Dual diagnosis difficulties (p. 107)
• Summary 2 Helping people with dual diagnosis (p. 108)
• 5 Working with Personality Disorder (p. 109)
• What is personality disorder? (p. 110)
• What causes personality disorder? (p. 111)
• A diagnosis of exclusion? (p. 111)
• The personality disorder toolkit (p. 112)
• References (p. 115)
• Useful resources (p. 116)
• Case notes: Peter (p. 117)
• Handout 5.1 What's in a name? (p. 120)
• Handout 5.2 Treating personality disorder (p. 123)
• Handout 5.3 Personality disorder and the Mental Health Act (p. 127)
• Handout 5.4 PD or not PD? (p. 128)
• Summary 1 Personality disorder characteristics (p. 130)
• Summary 2 Personality disorder diagnosis (p. 131)
• 6 Working with People who Self-harm (p. 132)
• What is self-harm? (p. 132)
• Suicide and self-harm (p. 133)
• Why do people harm themselves? (p. 134)
• Helping people who self-harm (p. 136)
• The self-harm toolkit (p. 137)
• References (p. 139)
• Useful resources (p. 139)
• Case notes: Donna (p. 140)
• Handout 6.1 An attitude problem? (p. 142)
• Handout 6.2 Key risk factors for suicide (p. 143)
• Handout 6.3 Some points of caution (p. 144)
• Summary Self-harm (p. 145)
• 7 Conclusion (p. 147)
• And finally (p. 148)
• Appendix Introducing the Mental Health Act 1983 (p. 149)
• A glossary of terms used in the Mental Health Act (p. 149)
• The Mental Health Act: Part I (p. 151)
• The Mental Health Act: Part II (p. 151)
• The Mental Health Act: Part III (p. 152)
• Reference (p. 152)
• Useful resources (p. 155)
• Subject Index (p. 155)
• Author Index (p. 158)

Author notes provided by Syndetics