This book comprehensively discusses the background to the passing of India's revolutionary Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, offering a detailed description of the Act itself and a rigorous analysis in the context of the CRPD and the World Health Organization (WHO) standards for mental health law. It examines the fine balance, between complying with the CRPD while still delivering practical, humane, and implementable legislation. It explores how this legislation was shaped by the WHO standards and provides insights into areas where the Indian legislators deviated from these guidelines and why. Taking India as an example, it highlights what is possible in other low- and middle-income countries. Further it covers key issues in mental health, identifying potential competing interests and exploring the difficulties and limitations of international guidelines. The book is a valuable resource for psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, non-governmental organizations and all mental healthcare workers in India and anyone studying human rights law.

This publication highlights key issues and principles to be considered in the drafting, adoption and implementation of mental health legislation and best practice in mental health services. It contains examples of diverse experiences and practices, as well as extracts of laws and other legal documents from a range of different countries, and a checklist of key policy components. Three main elements of effective mental health legislation are identified, relating to context, content and process.

Collects together data compiled from 177 World Health Organization Member States/Countries on mental health care. Coverage includes policies, plans and laws for mental health, human and financial resources available, what types of facilities providing care, and mental health programmes for prevention and promotion.

Provides practical solutions for ending coercion in mental health care and realizing the universal right to legal capacity.

This book makes a highly innovative contribution to overcoming the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness – still the heaviest burden both for those afflicted and those caring for them. The scene is set by the presentation of different fundamental perspectives on the problem of stigma and discrimination by researchers, consumers, families, and human rights experts. Current knowledge and practice used in reducing stigma are then described, with information on the programmes adopted across the world and their utility, feasibility, and effectiveness. The core of the volume comprises descriptions of new approaches and innovative programmes specifically designed to overcome stigma and discrimination. In the closing part of the book, the editors – all respected experts in the field – summarize some of the most important evidence- and experience-based recommendations for future action to successfully rewrite the long and burdensome ‘story’ of mental illness stigma and discrimination.

Hearing Voices: The History of Psychiatry in Ireland is a monumental work by one of Ireland’s leading psychiatrists, encompassing every psychiatric development from the Middle Ages to the present day, and examining the far-reaching social and political effects of Ireland’s troubled relationship with mental illness. From the “Glen of Lunatics”, said to cure the mentally ill, to the overcrowded asylums of later centuries – with more beds for the mentally ill than any other country in the world – Ireland has a complex, unsettled history in the practice of psychiatry. Kelly’s definitive work examines Ireland’s unique relationship with conceptions of mental ill health throughout the centuries, delving into each medical breakthrough and every misuse of authority – both political and domestic – for those deemed to be mentally ill. Through fascinating archival records, Kelly writes a crisp and accessible history, evaluating everything from individual case histories to the seismic effects of the First World War, and exploring the attitudes that guided treatments, spanning Brehon Law to the emerging emphasis on human rights. Hearing Voices is a marvel that affords incredible insight into Ireland’s social and medical history while providing powerful observations on our current treatment of mental ill health in Ireland.

This is a comprehensive volume on issues and concerns relating to child and adolescent mental health in Asia, which includes contributions from experts in child psychiatry from Asia and other parts of the world. The chapters provide accurate and detailed accounts of the current state of knowledge integrating research approaches and findings from clinical studies. Each chapter discusses existing information, emphasizes areas of growth and provides fresh insights on a particular topic especially as these might relate to Asian populations. The book integrates various clinical and scientific perspectives on psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents with a focus on Asia. The various sections deal with important topics in child and adolescent psychiatry: the current understanding of mental disorders and the ways in which possible influences might work in the development of psychopathology; substance use disorders, their neurobiological correlates and implications for the developing brain; early environmental influences in the psychopathology of psychiatric disorders in children; issues of parenting, child rearing and cultural practices in Asia, which influence personality development and adaptation; life-long impact of early parental loss; early diagnosis and intervention in recognizing and treating psychopathology; psychopharmacology of neurodevelopmental disorders in children; non-pharmacological treatments for children; mental health gap, and telepsychiatry as an innovative model to provide services for children; and a pressing need for a comprehensive child mental health policy across nations.