John Cox

This book is for improving understanding of individuals with mental illness. It offers theoretical knowledge of the methods of communication commonly adopted by individuals with a variety of diagnoses of mental illness and how information about communication can influence service provision, ending with suggestions for future policy and practice.

This text brings together clinicians and researchers in psychiatry and mental health. The aim is to explore what we can learn from anthropology to achieve a contextual understanding of mental illness and health in contemporary society. The book contains a wide selection of ideas, and works well to bridge the gap between anthropology and psychiatry.

Informed by the principle of 'medicine of the person', the contributors argue for a medical practice which takes account of spirituality, ethics and theology in keeping with the ideas and beliefs of Paul Tournier, an influential Swiss GP whose thinking has had a substantial impact on routine patient care relevant to national health services.