The Social Nature of Mental Illness,Len Bowers

Taylor & Francis

This is a critical scrutiny of the keenly-debated issue of whether mental illness is a physiological brain disorder or a disorder that is socially defined. > Psychiatrists assert that mental illness is a physiological brain disorder. The anti-psychiatry movement refutes this on grounds of lack of evidence claiming that mental illness is socially defined. Len Bowers offers a rational, objective and philosophical critique of the theories of mental illness as a social construct and concludes that, though sometimes misguided, they cannot be wholly rejected. This critical scrutiny of a controversial and keenly-debated issue will be of interest to psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, sociologists and professionals in paramedical disciplines. > 1. Introduction 2. Deviance 3. Rules 4. Culture 5. Diagnosis 6. History 7. Politics *. Illness 9. Physiology 10. Social Construct Bibliography Name Index Subject Index > \n'This book is the most comprehensive treatment of .