Unique new book providing an overview and critical analysis of developments in Irish mental health policy, practice and law from 1945 to the present day, in the context of key emerging theoretical concepts.
Written by leaders in the field, the book is presented in three distinct sections, which examine:
The context for mental health care and support in 21st-century Ireland
Emerging developments in mental health service delivery and law
The implications of current trends for mental health policy, practice and law in Ireland in the future.
The shifting discourse around conceptions and treatment of mental distress
The move from expert-led care to recovery-orientated, partnership-based support
The challenge posed to service development by minority and marginalised groups
The changing interface between the legal and mental health care systems
The complexity of economic evaluation of mental health services
The paradox of mental health service provision in a risk-averse society.
Presents an invaluable resource, based on recent academic and informally published literature, in the field of mental health in Ireland.
Written For:
’Overall this book is an excellent, indispensable resource which is based on current academic and published literature. I would most definitely recommend [it] to both students and practitioners. [It] is an insightful read and a great contribution to Irish knowledge.’
Brid Joy, The Irish Social Worker
Foreword
Eddie Molloy
Foreword
Ivor Browne
Contributors’ Profiles
Section 1: Context for Mental Health Service Delivery in 21st-century Ireland
1. Introduction: Struggle and contestation in the field of mental health
Agnes Higgins and Shari McDaid
2. Mental hospital institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation in Ireland
Damien Brennan
3. Medicalisation and professionalisation of mental health service delivery
Líam Mac Gabhann
4. Shadow lives: Social exclusion of and discrimination against people with experience of mental or emotional distress
Shari McDaid
Agnes Higgins, RPN, RGN, RNT, BNS, MSc, PhD, is a professor in Mental Health Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin.
Shari McDaid, BA, MA (SocSci), PhD, is director of the national coalition Mental Health Reform and has worked in social policy in Ireland for over ten years.