Psychiatry and mental healthA guide for counsellors and psychotherapists
Rachel Freeth (PCCS Books 2020)
My latest book is a textbook about psychiatry and mental health. It explores their theoretical and conceptual foundations, how various types of mental disorders are commonly understood and treated, covering for example the subjects of psychiatric diagnosis and psychiatric drugs.
It is written to inform and support counsellors and psychotherapists who work with clients experiencing various forms of mental distress, exploring the challenging interface between psychiatry and counselling and providing guidance in difficult situations. However, much of the book’s content will also be of interest to mental health professionals and the general public, particularly those wishing to understand some of the debates, critiques and philosophical positions and complexities relating to psychiatry and approaches to mental healthcare in the Western world.
As well as being informative, a particular feature of the book is how, through reflective exercises, clinical scenarios and practice points, it asks us to explore and question our own natural biases, unexamined assumptions, values and beliefs about mental health, distress and helping responses.
From the front page
‘This book is vast, authoritative, relevant and challenging, yet written with warmth, a lightness of touch and an authority rooted in a depth of practice experience and compassion’ (Dr Andrew Reeves, Associate Professor in the Counselling Professions and Mental Health)
‘This book should be read widely not only by therapists but also by clinical psychologists, mental health nurses and psychiatrists’ (Professor Philip Thomas, previously Consultant Psychiatrist and Professor of Philosophy, Diversity and Mental Health, University of Central Lancashire)
Humanising psychiatry and mental health careThe challenge of the person-centred approach
Rachel Freeth (Radcliffe Publishing, Oxford 2007)
My first book sets out the challenges and tensions for advocates of the person-centred approach (as developed by Carl Rogers) working within mental health settings, whilst also arguing that psychiatry and mental health care is in desperate need of the humanistic values and practice of this approach. Aimed at a wide audience, including person-centred counsellors and the full range of mental health professions, it sets out to explore complex issues in a clear and accessible manner.
From the foreward
‘…this book is the story of what it has meant for the psychiatrist / person-centred counsellor to remain hopeful and resilient in the face of the ever-deepening crisis that she has experienced in the powerfully drug-orientated world of NHS psychiatry…’ (Professor Brian Thorne, Emeritus Professor of Counselling)
‘This is not a book for the faint-hearted….It is a tough philosophy, confident in its assertion of subjective principles and everything that flows from them, It provides no guarantee of success and no insurance against failure. But it is more inspiring than anything I have read for a very long time.’ (Dr Mike Shooter CBE, former Consultant Psychiatrist and Past President, Royal College of Psychiatrists)
Chapters and articles in professional publications
I also contribute chapters in books and write regularly for professional publications.You can read my In Practice column for Therapy Today for free by clicking on the titles below (PDFs).
I have written a regular monthly In Practice column for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy journal Therapy Today. Click on the titles to read them.
Psychiatry meets counselling June 2012; Vol 23, Issue 5.
Beyond the medical model July 2012; Vol 23, Issue 6.
We are human too September 2012; Vol 23, Issue 7.
Mental health by numbers October 2012; Vol 23, Issue 8.
I am feeling powerless November 2012; Vol 23, Issue 9.
Encounters involving warmth December 2012; Vol 23, Issue 10.
Meaning-making and medication February 2013; Vol 24, Issue 1.
Are we worthy of their trust March 2013; Vol 24, Issue 2.
Sometimes it’s hard to listen April 2013; Vol 24, Issue 3.
Fixing to Facilitating May 2013; Vol 24, Issue 4.
Walking a path to the unknown June 2013; Vol 24, Issue 5.
A Spiritual Dimension July 2013; Vol 24, Issue 6.
The limits of science October 2013; Vol 24, Issue 8.
Who cares about the carers November 2013; Vol 24, Issue 9.
Travelling hopefully December 2013; Vol 24, Issue 10.
Challenges of counselling in psychiatric settings. In Etherington K. (Ed) Counsellors in Health Settings. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. 2001
A Psychiatrist’s Experience of Person-Centred Supervision. In Tudor K. and Worrall M. (Eds) Freedom to Practise. Person-centred approaches to supervision. PCCS Books: Ross-on-Wye. 2004
Political and philosophical dimensions of severe and enduring mental illness. In Russello A. (Ed) Severe Mental Illness in Primary Care. A companion guide for counsellors, psychotherapists and other professionals. Radcliffe Publishing: Oxford. 2007
Towards a person-centred psychiatry. In Joseph S. (Ed) The Handbook of Person-Centred Therapy and Mental Health. Theory, Research and Practice. PCCS Books: Monmouth. 2017
The Struggle for Meaning. Incorporating a Spiritual Dimension in Mental Health Care. In Harrison G. (Ed) Psycho-spiritual Care in Health Care Practice. Jessica Kingsley Publishers: London. 2017
Incorporating demedicalised therapy into training and continuing professional development. In Sanders P. and Tolan J. (eds). People Not Pathology. Freeing therapy from the medical model. PCCS Books: Monmouth. 2023
How much do we matter? The Doctors’ Post 5th July 1996; 8
Ending therapy…when one’s therapist dies. Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. July 2001; 18-20
Supervision. BMJ Career Focus. 15th September 2001; 2-3
Therapy in the NHS: who’s really got the power. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. January 2003; 10-11
Working as a staff grade can be a positive experience. BMJ Careers. 5th April 2003; s122
Psychiatry and counselling…bridging the divide. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. April 2003; 2-6
Psychopharmacology for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, Part 1. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. January 2004; 30-33
Psychopharmacology for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, Part 2. Healthcare Counseling and Psychotherapy Journal. April 2004; 30-32
Person-centred or patient-centred? Therapy Today. October 2006; 36-39
Focusing on relationship – is there room for another paradigm in Psychiatric Intensive Care? Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care. 2007; 2 (2): 55-58
Working within the medical model. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. October 2007; 3-7
The person-centred approach in mental health settings: Personal and professional frontiers. Person-centred Quarterly. November 2008; 24-26
Developing therapeutic relationships in assertive outreach. (Co-written with Caroline Jennings) In Assertive Outreach Handbook. 2gether NHS Foundation Trust. 2009; 41-43
Supervision and support for assertive outreach workers. In Assertive Outreach Handbook. 2gether NHS Foundation Trust. 2009; 104-108
Different Agendas within Psychiatry and Mental Healthcare. The Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy. Summer 2010 (Vol 10: No 1); 25-35
Humanizing Psychiatry. Psychiatrist Rachel Freeth in conversation with James Davies. Self & Society. Spring 2018; 46(1): 78-81
Counsellors are seen as just for the worried well. Interview with Catherine Jackson. Therapy Today. May 2020; 27-30
Working with a psychiatric diagnosis. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. July 2021; 8-12
On the Couch with Rachel Freeth. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. October 2022; 21 (This article first appeared in the October 2022 issue of Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. 2022© Click on title to download PDF.)
The Mythical Story of Our Planet and the Role of Therapy. Freeth R. and Greaves D. Self and Society. 2022; 9: 1-14 (Click on title to download PDF)
Click on the titles to read these posts.