Is depression simply the result of chemical imbalances, or schizophrenia a wholly biological disorder? What role do the broader circumstances of an individual's social, cultural and heuristic world play in the wider scheme of their psychological wellbeing?

This award-winning textbook provides a ground-breaking psychological approach to understanding mental distress. Challenging the dominant biomedical model of mental health, readers are encouraged to consider mental illness as a subjective experience that is expressed according to the individual circumstances of the sufferer rather than through rigid diagnostic categories. Approaches to recovery expand beyond psychiatric medication to consider the fundamental function of methods such as psychotherapy, community psychology and service-user movements in the recovery process.

This thoroughly-updated new edition:
- Has a brand new chapter exploring issues and experiences associated with diagnoses such as ADHD and autism
- Features lived experience accounts to help readers understand the real-life issues and challenges people face
- Includes running case studies to invite students to consider which interventions and treatments may be appropriate
- Includes new learning features such as Critical Reflections and In Focus boxes to highlight debates and encourage critical engagement

This is essential reading for psychology and mental health students who need to develop a critical and holistic understanding of mental distress.