This practical and accessible critique of the institutions, practices and presuppositions that underlie the st

This practical and accessible critique of the institutions, practices and presuppositions that underlie the study of `psychopathology′ will be invaluable for students and practitioners who are working to understand mental health and distress.

The authors - who come from backgrounds in clinical psychology, psychiatric social work, psychoanalysis, psychology teaching and action research - challenge the traditions of the field. They analyze the notion of `psychopathology′ as a conventional term in psychology and psychiatry through the language and institutions that hold it in place; and explore the implications of deconstructive ideas for the theories and practices that sustain clinical treatments; and offer an alternative way of seeing `psychopathology′, with accounts of critical professional work and good practice.

Deconstructing Psychopathology is invaluable reading for students, academics and practitioners across a range of disciplines who are working to understand mental health and distress, including

clinical and counselling psychology, psychiatry, psychiatric social work, counselling and psychotherapy.