The Unbalanced Mind (Maps of the Mind)

Does the crooked gene give rise to the crooked thought? Satirical aphorisms apart, the revolution in molecular genetics has indeed given rise to the heady optimism that biology will soon explain all disturbances of mind and behaviour. In this important and necessary book, Julian Leff, a world leading psychiatrist, counters this reductionist stance. Instead he emphasises what is known about the psychological, social and cultural factors underlying mental illness. In doing so, he addresses many serious and urgent questions. What exactly is the difference between sadness and depression? What are the difficulties in categorising psychiatric conditions? How are psychiatric diagnoses made in the first place? Are international attempts to standardise diagnosis flawed? Can doctors ever hope to disentangle cause and effect in the treatment of mental illness? What is the influence of emotional relationships on psychiatric conditions? Is there a link between schizophrenia and socio-economic deprivation? How do public attitudes to mental illness affect choice of treatment? And, finally, what does this tell us about the cultural causes of mental illness? Wide-ranging, perceptive and penetrating, this brief counterblast is essential reading for anyone who wishes to be informed about the public debate on mental illness.