Explaining what psychiatry is and what it does, this work looks at the major mental illnesses and how they are treated. It outlines a brief history of the subject, focusing on the controversies that have inevitably surrounded it--from political abuse to the very existence or otherwise of both mental illness and 'normality'.

"First edition published 2006"--Title page verso.

What is psychiatry? -- Asylums and the origins of psychiatry -- The move into the community -- Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy -- Psychiatry under attack, inside and out -- Open to abuse -- Into the 21st century.