The Handbook of Person-Centred Therapy and Mental Health: Theory, Research and Practice

First published in 2005 as Person-Centred Psychopathology, and now extensively updated and with a new title, The Handbook of Person-Centred Therapy and Mental Health challenges the use of psychiatric diagnoses and makes a powerful case for the effectiveness of person-centred approaches as the alternative way to work with people who would otherwise be diagnosed with severe mental illnesses, such as psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This updated second edition captures the significant changes in recent years in how mental health and ill health is conceptualised and understood, and in how mental health care is delivered. It demonstrates how the person-centred approach can help occupy the space that is opening up as mental health professionals look for alternatives to the medical model. And, while acknowledging the chasm that separates person-centred practice from the mainstream medical model, it argues for collaborative working with these fellow mental health professionals. Contributors from across the fields of research, policy-making and practice explore aspects of theory, professionalism, the role of culture, and the politics of the person-centred approach in relation to mental health.They demonstrate how Rogers' theories of personality and the actualising process are able to provide a model of human functioning that is relevant not just to counselling but to all mental health professions, and beyond, to the social sciences. They give examples of how the person-centred approach is being applied successfully in practice (and successfully evaluated). They offer personal testament to the challenges and creative dynamics of working in a person-centred way within mainstream contexts, and they review the vibrant political and professional divisions and arguments that continue to inform thinking and practice today. New chapters examine the influence of the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme in England, and how researchers are successfully overcoming the challenge of evaluating the effectiveness of person-centred approaches to severe mental distress.