Book review: The Handbook of Person-Centred Therapy and Mental Health

The Handbook of Person-Centred Therapy and Mental Health

Stephen Joseph (Ed)

PCCS Books

£27.99/512pp

ISBN: 9781910919316

First published in 2005 this book has been extensively updated and has a new title. It challenges the use of psychiatric diagnoses and makes a powerful case for the effectiveness of person-centred approaches as alternative ways to work with people who would otherwise be diagnosed with severe mental illnesses.

In his introduction the editor asserts that while person-centred approaches have become a major focus in counselling and psychotherapy, they have been overlooked in mainstream mental health services as a way to understand distress and dysfunction. Each chapter addresses a set of theoretical issues or challenges posed by working in a specific professional context.

Contributors from policymaking, research and practice provide examples of how person-centred approaches are being applied successfully in