In this timely analysis, Rich Moth assesses mental health services in a period of major change. Based on extended fieldwork in community mental health services, he explores the many impacts of policy reform, marketisation and austerity on NHS mental health provision, and positions developments in the contexts of neoliberalism and an increased emphasis on individual responsibility. Firmly rooted in the lived experiences of people using mental health services and the everyday practices of social workers, nurses and psychiatrists, he develops a stimulating perspective on how mental distress is understood and responded to within these settings.

About the Author
Rich Moth is Lecturer in Social Work at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Reviews
"This excellent volume is an important theoretically informed contribution that exposes the gap between the progressive narrative of community care, based on the recognition of individual rights as citizens and the current bureaucratic models of service provision." Critical Social Policy
"This book provides an important contribution to the debate about what mental health services should look like, who should provide them and how, and it should be required reading for those engaged in those debates in both academic and practice spheres." Sociology of Health & Illness
"This important book is a must read for mental health nurses and other practitioners who feel immense strain in their everyday work but can struggle to make meaningful sense of their predicament and, hence, identify what to do for the best." International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
"Moth's work serves as a timely reminder that distress, disorientation and difficulties in living occur in a socio-political context. He is a worthy inheritor of the critical, politically aware tradition which flourishes within the UK." Journal of Mental Health



Book Information
ISBN 9781447349891
Author Rich Moth
Format Paperback
Page Count 276
Imprint Policy Press
Publisher Bristol University Press