Psychotic disorders are a major public health challenge. Psychoses are associated with significant individual, familial, and societal costs. Yet, our understanding of these conditions is limited because the overwhelming majority of research is conducted in a small number of countries in North America, Europe, and Australasia, which together comprise only around 16% of the world's population. There are consequently substantial gaps in our knowledge of psychoses, and the need for a global perspective is obvious. Psychosis: Global Perspectives comprises two parts: In the first half of the book, the authors review the current evidence base on psychoses around the world by theme, from epidemiology to human rights, highlighting commonalities and differences between settings and illustrating the gaps in our knowledge. The second half of the book synthesises existing research from nine countries in the Global South, providing detailed accounts of ongoing research programmes, local treatment systems, and cultural contexts, and contrasting these with theory and data generated from the Global North. Together, these sections illustrate how experiences of psychosis may be shaped by social context, and the importance of diversifying the settings in which research on psychosis is conducted. Academically rigorous yet accessibly written, this new title addresses the substantial inequalities in literature and attention in the global understanding of psychotic disorders.

This text synthesizes the existing research in non-western countries to provide detailed accounts of ongoing research programmes, local treatment systems, cultural contexts, and the lived experience of psychosis.

Mental health is a fundamental public health priority, and this stimulating and comprehensive book brings together all of the key issues to offer an overview for students and practitioners alike. Written by a team of leading international experts, the book summarizes the evidence base and asks the key questions at the heart of a range of topics from community development to public mental health in schools and recovery and well-being. The book includes: Mini toolkits at the end of each chapter that include tips for effective practice, reflection points and questions to consider Case studies exploring real world examples of public mental health in action Discussion and opinion encouraging readers to question and debate the issues at the core of public mental health policy The book also includes a chapter written by Kate E. Pickett and Richard G. Wilkinson, authors of the best selling book The Spirit Level. Public Mental Health: Global Perspectives is an invaluable tool to give readers the confidence to develop effective mental health tools and programs that will improve public mental health. Contributors: John Ashton, Jane Barlow, Annette Beautrais, Peter Byrne, Sandra Carlisle, Mima Cattan, Elaine Church, Cary Cooper, Patrick Corrigan, Mary O’Hagan, Phil Hanlon, Eva Jané-Llopis, Anthony Jorm, Gregory Luke Larkin, Crick Lund, Jane Mathieson, Margaret Maxwell, Maura Mulloy, Michael Nash, Inge Petersen, Kate Pickett, Nicola Reavley, Nicholas Rüsch, Jude Stansfield, Sarah Stewart-Brown, Mark Weist and Richard Wilkinson. "This book is written by renowned experts from a wide range of disciplines who carefully explore issues and tensions within the field. It will be a great resource not just for those working in public health practice but also for all those whose work has an influence on this vitally important aspect of human life." Professor Lindsey Davies, President of the Faculty of Public Health "The book provides a convincing account of the many ways in which our society could become more mentally healthy. It should be read by businessmen, teachers and politicians as much as by clinicians" Prof Lord Layard

Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders can be both devastating and long-lasting, and are associated with significant individual, familial, and societal costs. Schizophrenia is one of the top ten leading causes of disability world-wide, and yet the overwhelming majority of research is conducted in populations in the Global North (North America, Europe, and Australia - together comprising only around 16% of the world's population). Psychosis: Global Perspectives synthesises the existing research in non-western countries to provide detailed accounts of ongoing research programmes, local treatment systems, cultural contexts, and the lived experience of psychosis across nine countries in the Global South, setting the findings in frameworks of relevant current evidence from the Global North where appropriate. It features a critical review of the literature on specific aspects of psychosis, from phenomenology to mental health services and systems, to provide a solid background on the subject. Academically rigorous yet accessibly written, this new title addresses the substantial inequalities in literature and attention in the global understanding of psychotic disorders.

This book will provide readers with an overview of the core knowledge and issues in public mental health, and a guide for students and practitioners on the evidence and tools available to help them develop Public Mental Health programs that work in practice.

Epidemiology of Chronic Disease: Global Perspectives is the most current and authoritative resource on the epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, risk factors and preventive factors of over 50 major chronic diseases and conditions. This comprehensive text provides readers with an excellent basis for examining current hypotheses regarding chronic disease epidemiology.

This new edition describes a stage-specific model highlighting the risk, the clinical and biological factors present during the development of psychotic illness, and the best treatments available for each of these stages. Guides practitioners and researchers in the adoption of carefully planned management strategies fully integrating treatment with prevention.

This handbook examines state-of-the-art research and clinical findings on attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS) across the globe. It addresses symptoms, assessment methods, and treatment approaches as they differ and converge across countries and cultures. The handbook explores how the illness impairs many aspects of daily functioning, with high rates of suicide and a reduced life span. It details how early detection is critical and may greatly reduce the public health burden of the illness. Chapters describe the early identification and intervention efforts that are currently underway across the world. The book offers international findings from prominent researchers, elaborating culturally relevant illness symptoms, help-seeking behaviors, and assessment and intervention strategies. In addition, chapters illustrate wide variations in symptom expression and experience, reinforcing the necessity of culturally attuned practice in patient-centered care. The book concludes by examining the implications – challenges and opportunities – for future research and clinical practices from an international perspective. Topics featured in the Handbook include: Barriers to service in low-resourced countries. The role of traditional or culturally acceptable care in developing early intervention models. The reliability and validity of tools for assessing and identifying APS. Possible medical diagnoses that can present with APS symptoms and how to differentiate these conditions from APS. /divThe Handbook of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome Across Cultures is a must-have resource for researchers, professors, clinicians, and related professionals as well as graduate students in child and school psychology, psychiatry, social work, and related disciplines.

In the year 2000, approximately one million people died from suicide: a "global" mortality rate of 16 per 100,000, or one death every 40 seconds. In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. Suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 years (both sexes); these figures do not include suicide attempts up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide. Suicide worldwide is estimated to represent 1.8% of the total global burden of disease in1998, and 2.4% in countries with market and former socialist economies in 2020. Although traditionally suicide rates have been highest among the male elderly, rates among young people have been increasing to such an extent that they are now the group at highest risk in a third of countries, in both developed and developing countries. Mental disorders (particularly depression and substance abuse) are associated with more than 90% of all cases of suicide; however, suicide results from many complex sociocultural factors and is more likely to occur particularly during periods of socioeconomic, family and individual crisis situations (e.g., loss of a loved one, employment, honour). The economic costs associated with completed and attempted suicide are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. One million lives lost each year are more than those lost from wars and murder annually in the world. It is three times the catastrophic loss of life in the tsunami disaster in Asia in 2005. Every day of the year, the number of suicides is equivalent to the number of lives lost in the attack on the World Trade Center Twin Towers on 9/11 in 2001. Everyone should be aware of the warning signs for suicide: Someone threatening to hurt or kill him/herself, or taking of wanting to hurt or kill him/herself; someone looking for ways to kill him/herself by seeking access to firearms, available pills, or other means; someone talking or writing about death, dying or suicide, when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person. Also, high risk of suicide is generally associated with hopelessness; rage, uncontrolled anger, seeking revenge; acting reckless or engaging in risky activities, seemingly without thinking; feeling trapped – like there’s no way out; increased alcohol or drug use; withdrawing from friends, family and society, anxiety, agitation, unable to sleep or sleeping all the time; dramatic mood changes; no reason for living; no sense of purpose in life. Table 1: Understanding and helping the suicidal individual should be a task for all. Suicide Myths How to Help the Suicidal Person Warning Sights of Suicide Myth: Suicidal people just want to die. Fact: Most of the time, suicidal people are torn between wanting to die and wanting to live. Most suicidal individuals don’t want death; they just want to stoop the great psychological or emotional pain they are experiencing -Listen; -Accept the person’s feelings as they are; -Do not be afraid to talk about suicide directly -Ask them if they developed a plan of suicide; -Expressing suicidal feelings or bringing up the topic of suicide; -Giving away prized possessions settling affairs, making out a will; -Signs of depression: loss of pleasure, sad mood, alterations in sleeping/eating patterns, feelings of hopelessness; Myth: People who commit suicide do not warn others. Fact: Eight out of every 10 people who kill themselves give definite clues to their intentions. They leave numerous clues and warnings to others, although clues may be non-verbal of difficult to detect. -Remove lethal means for suicide from person’s home -Remind the person that depressed feelings do change with time; -Point out when death is chosen, it is irreversible; -Change of behavior (poor work or school performance) -Risk-taking behaviors -Increased use of alcohol or drugs -Social isolation -Developing a specific plan for suicide Myth: People who talk about suicide are only trying to get attention. They won’t really do it. Fact: Few commit suicide without first letting someone know how they feel. Those who are considering suicide give clues and warnings as a cry for help. Over 70% who do threaten to commit suicide either make an attempt or complete the act. -Express your concern for the person; -Develop a plan for help with the person; -Seek outside emergency intervention at a hospital, mental health clinic or call a suicide prevention center Myth: Don’t mention suicide to someone who’s showing signs of depression. It will plant the idea in their minds and they will act on it. Fact: Many depressed people have already considered suicide as an option. Discussing it openly helps the suicidal person sort through the problems and generally provides a sense of relief and understanding. Suicide is preventable. Most suicidal individuals desperately want to live; they are just unable to see alternatives to their problems. Most suicidal individuals give definite warnings of their suicidal intentions, but others are either unaware of the significance of these warnings or do not know how to respond to them. Talking about suicide does not cause someone to be suicidal; on the contrary the individual feel relief and has the opportunity to experience an empathic contact. Suicide profoundly affects individuals, families, workplaces, neighbourhoods and societies. The economic costs associated with suicide and self-inflicted injuries are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Surviving family members not only suffer the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide, and may themselves be at higher risk for suicide and emotional problems. Mental pain is the basic ingredient of suicide. Edwin Shneidman calls such pain “psychache” [1], meaning an ache in the psyche. Shneidman suggested that the key questions to ask a suicidal person are ‘Where do you hurt?’ and ‘How may I help you?’. If the function of suicide is to put a stop to an unbearable flow of painful consciousness, then it follows that the clinician’s main task is to mollify that pain. Shneidman (1) also pointed out that the main sources of psychological pain, such as shame, guilt, rage, loneliness, hopelessness and so forth, stem from frustrated or thwarted psychological needs. These psychological needs include the need for achievement, for affiliation, for autonomy, for counteraction, for exhibition, for nurturance, for order and for understanding. Shneidman [2], who is considered the father of suicidology, has proposed the following definition of suicide: ‘Currently in the Western world, suicide is a conscious act of self-induced annihilation, best understood as a multidimensional malaise in a needful individual who defines an issue for which the suicide is perceived as the best solution’. Shneidman has also suggested that ‘that suicide is best understood not so much as a movement toward death as it is a movement away from something and that something is always the same: intolerable emotion, unendurable pain, or unacceptable anguish. Strategies involving restriction of access to common methods of suicide have proved to be effective in reducing suicide rates; however, there is a need to adopt multi-sectoral approaches involving other levels of intervention and activities, such as crisis centers. There is compelling evidence indicating that adequate prevention and treatment of depression, alcohol and substance abuse can reduce suicide rates. School-based interventions involving crisis management, self-esteem enhancement and the development of coping skills and healthy decision making have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of suicide among the youth. Worldwide, the prevention of suicide has not been adequately addressed due to basically a lack of awareness of suicide as a major problem and the taboo in many societies to discuss openly about it. In fact, only a few countries have included prevention of suicide among their priorities. Reliability of suicide certification and reporting is an issue in great need of improvement. It is clear that suicide prevention requires intervention also from outside the health sector and calls for an innovative, comprehensive multi-sectoral approach, including both health and non-health sectors, e.g., education, labour, police, justice, religion, law, politics, the media.

Inpatient mental health care is an essential part of community-based mental health care in the UK. Patients admitted to acute mental health wards are often experiencing high levels of distress and acute mental illness and need to be assessed, managed, and treated by a wide team of mental health care professionals. Inpatient care is often a traumatic experience for patients and their relatives which can define their relationship with mental health care services. Reforming inpatient psychiatry is a priority for both patients and staff, yet there are few reference texts on this psychiatric specialty. The Oxford Textbook of Inpatient Psychiatry bridges this gap by offering a comprehensive and pragmatic guide to the UK's inpatient mental health care system today. Written and edited by a multidisciplinary team, this innovative resource discusses the real-life experiences and challenges of a wide range of professionals working on acute mental health wards. Organized into 8 sections this resource covers nursing, team leadership, multidisciplinary work, psychology, and medical aspects. Individual chapters address key topics such as the management of children and adolescents, and contain information on up-to-date research and best practice. Focusing on the dignity and autonomy of patients, this unique resource offers a model for clinical and organizational practice both at a national and international level.