Conversations in Critical Psychiatry

Conversations in Critical Psychiatry brings together an edited selection of interviews published in the Psychiatric Times from 2019 to 2022, updated with new and previously unpublished material. These interviews explore critical and philosophical perspectives in psychiatry by engaging with prominent commentators within and outside the profession who have made meaningful criticisms of the status quo. These conversations advance our understanding of psychopathology and offer a pluralistic vision of psychiatric practice.

The series includes interviews with many leading scholars such as Allen Frances, Anne Harrington, Paul McHugh, Nassir Ghaemi, Dainius Pūras, Joanna Moncrieff, Jonathan Shedler, Sanneke de Haan, Nev Jones and Kenneth Kendler, among others. The discussions cover a wide array of philosophical, clinical, and scientific topics and present a sweeping overview of psychiatrys relationship to critique. A detailed introductory essay 'Psychiatry and the Critical Landscape' offers a synthesis of themes and makes the case for mainstream psychiatry to embrace the critical tradition, while urging critical psychiatry to engage with a philosophically informed view of psychiatric science. Given the accessible and rigorous nature of these conversations, this book will be of interest to academics, clinicians, students, service users, and general readers alike.