Mind, State and Society examines the reforms in psychiatry and mental health services in Britain during 1960–2010, when de-institutionalisation and community care coincided with the increasing dominance of ideologies of social liberalism, identity politics and neoliberal economics. Featuring contributions from leading academics, policymakers, mental health clinicians, service users and carers, it offers a rich and integrated picture of mental health, covering experiences from children to older people; employment to homelessness; women to LGBTQ+; refugees to black and minority ethnic groups; and faith communities and the military. It asks important questions such as: what happened to peoples' mental health? What was it like to receive mental health services? And how was it to work in or lead clinical care? Seeking answers to questions within the broader social-political context, this book considers the implications for modern society and future policy. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Finalist, 2022 PROSE Award for History of Science, Medicine, and Technology

‘This impressive book is full of brilliant insights into the history of psychiatry and mental health services in Britain. Its illustration of attitudes to mental health through historical, social and political lenses, as well as via experts by experience, gives psychiatrists a much deeper understanding of how to approach the world we now inhabit.’

Adrian James - President, Royal College of Psychiatrists

‘This book is a panopticon of recent English psychiatric history. Written by a galaxy of mental health star participants and witnesses to these recent transformational events. The chapters present a rich series of perspective on the central question: what happened to mental health care in England over the last 50 years? What changed and why and how? During this time the large majority of psychiatric institutions closed, as the balance of care moved to more community based services. An analysis of this period has been neglected until now, and this fine book will be an enduring point of reference. I know of no better book on this important period of recent health service history in England. It shows what was done well for mental health, and what was done less well, from both of which we must learn.’

Sir Graham Thornicroft - King’s College London, UK

‘The editors have assembled an extraordinarily broad list of authors, from many different disciplines and perspectives, to capture the multifaceted experience that has been psychiatry and mental health over 50 years. For many of us, this will capture not only the settings, but the narratives of our lifetimes as professionals, patients or both.’

Linda Gask - Emerita Professor of Primary Care Psychiatry, University of Manchester, UK

‘The book seeks to show a rich and integrated picture of mental health … This is a book for study and reflection, mostly for specialists and professionals in psychiatry.’

Alain Touwaide Source: Doody's Notes

'… the text is uniformly well written, and contributed chapters are both carefully researched and well presented ... Professionals and educators in public and mental health will find it essential reading ... Highly recommended.'

R. E. Osborne Source: Choice