Main description:

Research has established that there are efficacious psychological therapies for most common mental disorders. In Towards a Mental Health System That Works, psychologist Michael J Scott details the reforms necessary to ensure that consumers of services receive an evidence-based treatment.

This book examines:

the social significance of interventions that target mental-wellbeing and psychological disorder

why treatments are 'lost in translation' from research to routine practice

steps that can be taken towards a translation that better recognises the complexity of research and ensures fidelity to an evidence-based treatment protocol

the deleterious effects of current provision on clients and therapists.

Towards a Mental Health System that Works is a valuable resource for therapists, mental health practitioners, Clinical Commissioning Groups and politicians, enabling them to critically evaluate service provision, distil what constitutes cost-effective evidence-based mental health practice across the whole spectrum of disorders and client populations, and chart a new direction. It also serves as a guide to consumers of mental health services, as well as their friends and family, allowing them to understand what they are likely to experience and what they can demand.

Contents:

Part One A Public Health Approach to Mental Health 1. Mental Well-Being and Stress 2. Positive Psychology 3. Overstating Preventative Capacity and Diagnostic Creep Part Two Crystallising Mental Health Problems 4. Difficulties In Deciding Whether Something Is Wrong 5. Social Support, Psychoeducation and Psychological Disorders Part Three The Quantity and Quality of Psychological Help Available 6. Availability of Psychological Therapy Services 7. The Quality of Psychological Therapy Services Part Four Realising The Potential of Psychological Therapies 8. Creating A Mental Health System Fit for Purpose 9. Maintaining the Social Significance of Psychological Therapy 10. Wounded Healers