The New Laws of Psychology ― Why Nature and Nurture Alone Can't Explain Human Behaviour

A controversial and ground-breaking new popular science title which looks at how "mental illness" needs to be completely redefined

This controversial new book describes how human behavior—thoughts, emotions, actions, and mental health—can be largely explained if we understand how people make sense of their world and how that framework of understanding has been learned. This groundbreaking book presents a simple but radical new model of mental well-being. Published following the publication of the new edition of the controversialDiagnostic and Statistical Manual, the book challenges notions such as "mental illness" and "abnormal psychology" as old-fashioned, demeaning, and invalid, and argues that diagnoses such as "depression" and "schizophrenia" are unhelpful. Kinderman argues that one consequence of our current obsession with a medical approach to human well-being and distress is that human problems are too often merely diagnosed and treated, rather than understood. Witten by an expert in his field, and accessible to all those interested in and affected by mental health issues, this book will change the way we define mental illness forever.

Peter Kinderman is professor of clinical psychology and head of the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society at the University of Liverpool. He is a former member of the Department of Health's Mental Health Advisory Board and is currently a member of the Office for National Statistics' Technical Advisory Group for the measurement of national w ellbeing. Peter is also a consultant to the BBC Headroom campaign and has contributed to several broadcasts in the field of mental health.