The Origins of Unhappiness

by David Smail (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1993

  $5.70

  The normal interpretation of psychological distress - more usually labelled as neurosis or mental illness - is that it originates from within the individual. This book turns this theory on its head and examines what the author believes is the real cause of individual distress - the society we live in. Looking particularly at the workings of both visible and invisible social power and placing his theory in the context of the political backdrop of the 1980s, the author describes the psychological consequences of the interplay of political and personal power and goes on to analyze the ways in which clinical psychology and psychiatry in Britain fail to meet the needs of the people being treated.

• Used

  Paperback
  1999

  $7.71

  Through his examination of how visible and invisible social power - institutions, politics, the Establishment - wields an influence over our lives often beyond our immediate control, Smail leads us to a clear understanding of distress.'