Bipolar disorder (BPD), or manic depression, is a severe mental illness which has a substantial impact on the sufferer, carers, and mental health services. It had, until recently, been almost entirely neglected by psychological researchers. This book presents a broad overview of the psychological and psychosocial factors involved in bipolar disease

Despite nearly one hundred years of research, very little progress has been achieved in the understanding of schizophrenic behaviour. There remains considerable uncertainty even about the fundamental features of the hypothesised illness. Reconstructing Schizophrenia subjects the difficult concept of schizophrenia to rigorous scientific, historical and sociological scrutiny. It examines why biological defects are assumed in the absence of hard evidence and look at what can be done psychologically to alleviate schizophrenic symptoms. Finally, it explores what new models and research strategies...