Title: Practical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Illness
Subtitle: Beyond DSM and ICD Diagnosing
Subject Classification:  Psychology, Counselling, Healthcare  
BIC Classification: JM, MMH, MQU
BISAC Classification: PSY036000, MED058180, PSY028000
Binding: Hardback, Paperback, eBook
Publication date: 07 Feb 2024
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-80441-286-2
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-80441-287-9
ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-80441-477-4

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Description

Practical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Illness is the fifth Volume of the Ethics International Press Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series. Understanding the current systems of psychology and psychiatry is profoundly important. So is exploring alternatives. The Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series presents solicited chapters from international experts on a wide variety of underexplored subjects. This is a series for mental health researchers, teachers, and practitioners, for parents and interested lay readers, and for anyone trying to make sense of anxiety, depression, and other emotional difficulties. Practical Alternatives provides practical and implementable alternatives to psychiatric diagnosing. These discussions will be set against the unique backdrop that is managed care, and the contemporary system of healthcare in the United States. It likewise looks at worldwide practices that have arisen in different cultures and as a result of various alternative frameworks. The aim of this book is to provide people, including medical and psychiatric professionals researchers and students, with practical and varied clinical approaches they can utilize, that sidestep the need to rely on psychiatric diagnoses.

Biography

Editor(s):  Arnoldo Cantú, LCSW is a clinical social worker with experience in school social work and community mental health working with children, adolescents, and their families in a clinical capacity. He is undertaking Doctoral research at Colorado State University (CSU) with an interest in researching conceptual and practical alternatives to the DSM. Dr. Eric Maisel, Ph.D., is a former family therapist, based in California, USA, who works actively as a creativity coach. He is the author of many books on creativity, psychology, and mental health, among them The Future of Mental Health, Humane Helping, and Rethinking Depression. Dr. Chuck Ruby, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and a licensed psychologist in private practice in southern Maryland who has been offering psychotherapy services for more than 25 years.

Reviews

"This groundbreaking book feels like a breath of fresh air in a field that desperately needs it. Edited by Cantú, Maisel, and Ruby, it doesn't just criticize the limitations of traditional psychiatric diagnosis—it offers real solutions that actually make sense. What impressed me most was how it balances deep theoretical insights with practical approaches that clinicians can actually use tomorrow. Instead of throwing out everything about current models, the authors thoughtfully consider how we might reimagine mental health care in ways that put real human stories and social contexts at the center, rather than reducing complex lives to clinical labels. What makes this book so powerful is that it's both intellectually rigorous and genuinely moving. The editors have clearly lived this work, bringing decades of experience to essays that speak to both professionals and anyone who's ever struggled with mental health challenges or watched a loved one navigate the system. By sharing stories of resilience and community-based approaches, they've created something that feels like more than just another academic text—it's a roadmap toward hope. For anyone who's ever felt that the current mental health system just doesn't get it, this book isn't just informative—it's validating and potentially life-changing."
- Nafees Alam, Ph.D., LMSW, Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Nebraska

"Practical is the key word to describe the throughline of this book. Intriguing for new graduates and experienced clinicians alike, Cantú, Maisel, and Ruby have gathered a rich set of perspectives in “Practical Alternatives to the Psychiatric Model of Mental Illness” that prod the mental health field towards more sensibly working with the nuances of human suffering. As Cantú notes in the Introduction, this volume represents an attempt to move beyond our conventional understanding of mental disorder and mental illness towards “envision[ing] practical and implementable alternatives to psychiatric diagnosis.” Ramsay’s starting chapter on the “myth of psychiatric diagnosis” alone is worth buying the book and will spur much-needed debate about the DSM and ICD within disciplines like psychiatry, psychology, social work, and counseling. The 25 chapters that follow—by and large—live up to the Editors’ laudable intention of offering readers down-to-earth examples of collaborating with clients and honoring the fullness of their individual experiences. Maisel’s idea of creating a “human experience specialist” is genuinely innovative, something that could be appreciated by those searching for a holistic alternative to diagnostic labels. Plus, it aligns with good old-fashioned common sense. As the authors make clear, psychiatric diagnosis is an option, not the only option available to help their clients in the therapy room move through distress. Clinicians on the fence about the diagnostic enterprise altogether, I imagine, will want to probe even further after reading this thoughtful book."
- Nathan Gallo, MSW, CNA, Independent Researcher, Fort Collins, CO