Dave Harper wins the BPS book award

It was a very pleasant surprise last week to be informed that Psychology, Mental Health & Distress (Palgrave MacMillan, 2013) had won the 2014 British Psychological Society book award in the textbook category. I and my co-authors John Cromby (Loughborough University) and Paula Reavey (London South Bank University) decided to write the book when we realised that most psychology textbooks about mental health were out of step with current research and practice and also ignored the significant contributions made by the mental health service user movement. We wrote two thirds of the book and the other third was written by -- or in collaboration with -- various eminent contributors (current and ex-mental health service users, clinical psychologists and a psychiatrist). One of our aims in writing the book was to change the way this important topic is approached and we have been heartened to see it being adopted by an increasing number of academic programmes both for psychology undergraduates and also for mental health professionals. As a result it is especially rewarding that the British Psychological Society have recognised the value of this, and we hope it will encourage others to reconsider how they approach the issue of mental health in their teaching and practice. Readers who want to find out more could read a longer blog posting I wrote last year where I discuss in more detail the background to the book and summarised its contents.

Dave Harper

http://www.uel.ac.uk/research/profiles/psychology/davidharper/