Recovery of People with Mental Illness Philosophical and Related Perspectives

by Rudnick, Abraham

• ISBN13: 9780199691319
• ISBN10: 0199691312
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-25
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

It is only in the past 20 years that the concept of 'recovery' from mental health has been more widely considered and researched. Before then, it was generally considered that 'stability' was the best that anyone suffering from a mental disorder could hope for. But now it is recognised that, throughout their mental illness, many patients develop new beliefs, feelings, values, attitudes, and ways of dealing with their disorder. The notion of recovery from mental illness is thus rapidly being accepted and is inserting more hope into mainstream psychiatry and other parts of the mental health care system around the world. Yet, in spite of conceptual and other challenges that this notion raises, including a variety of interpretations, there is scarcely any systematic philosophical discussion of it. This book is unique in addressing philosophical issues - including conceptual challenges and opportunities - raised by the notion of recovery of people with mental illness. Such recovery - particularly in relation to serious mental illness such as schizophrenia - is often not about cure and can mean different things to different people. For example, it can mean symptom alleviation, ability to work, or the striving toward mental well-being (with or without symptoms). The book addresses these different meanings and their philosophical grounds, bringing to the fore perspectives of people with mental illness and their families as well as perspectives of philosophers, mental health care providers and researchers, among others. The important new work will contribute to further research, reflective practice and policy making in relation to the recovery of people with mental illness.It is essential reading for philosophers of health, psychiatrists, and other mental care providers, as well as policy makers.

Author Biography

Dr. Abraham (Rami) Rudnick, BMedSc, MD, MPsych, PhD, CPRP, FRCPC, is a psychiatrist and a philosopher who conducts research, teaches, practices clinically and leads mental health care services in Canada. His particular expertise is in bioethics and in psychiatric rehabilitation, especially in relation to people with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia. In his work, he addresses philosophical aspects of health and its correlates and recovery of people with mental illness.

Table of Contents

Preface: Background and Overview, Abraham Rudnick
About the authors
Overview of Chapter 1
1. Introduction, Abraham Rudnick
Section 1: First Person Accounts in Relation to Recovery
2. Life Beyond Psychiatry, Wilma Boevink
3. A Wellness Approach to Mental Health Recovery, Margaret Swarbrick
4. Families and Patients with Mental Illness - on the recovery road, Eli Shamir
Section 2: Historical, Epistemological and Metaphysical Aspects of Recovery of People with Mental Illness
5. Benevolence and Discipline: the concept of recovery in early 19th century moral treatment, Louis Charland
6. The Epistemological Basis of Personal Recovery, Mike Slade
7. Contrasting Conceptualizations of Recovery Imply Distinct Research Methodology, Kenneth Gill
8. Cultural Contexts and Constructions of Recovery, Ademole Adeponle, Robert Whitley, and Laurence J. Kirmayer
9. Recovery and Hope in Relation to Schizophrenia, Beate Schranck, Johannes Wally, and Burghart Schmidt
10. Recovery, Narrative Theory and Generative Madness, Bradley Lewis
11. From Being Subjected to Being a Subject: recovery in relation to schizophrenia, Paul Lysaker and John Lysaker
Section 3: Justice and Other Ethical Aspects of Recovery of People with Mental Illness
12. Some Social Science Antinomies and Their Implications for the Recovery-Oriented Approach to Mental Illness and Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Shlomo Kravetz, and Ilanit Hasson-Ohayon
13. Recovery and the Partitioning of Authority in Psychiatry, Peter Zachar and Douglas Porter
14. Being Ill and Getting Better: recovery and accounts of disorder, Rachel Cooper
15. Recovery, Model, Values and Narrative Understanding, Tim Thornton
16. Considering Recovery as a Process: or, life is not an outcome, Larry Davidson
17. Recovery and Stigma: issues of social justice, Elizabeth Flanagan, Dror Ben-Zeev, and Patrick Corrigan
18. Recovery and Advocacy: contextualising justice in relation to recovery from mental illness in East Asia, Marcus Chiu
19. Ethical and Related Practical Issues Faced by Recovery-Oriented Mental Health Care Providers, Abraham Rudnick