New Perspectives on Mental Health

The number of diagnosed mental disorders keeps rising. Depression now counts as one of the biggest – if not the biggest – health problems globally. Yet, experts disagree on how to explain the rising numbers. What is behind these disorders? What can we learn from their history? And who is to decide on what is “normal” and what a “disorder” that should be treated? Two new eBooks investigate into these backgrounds.

Stephan Schleim starts out with a discussion of the backgrounds in Was sind psychische Störungen? (2018). Which different models try to explain what mental disorders actually are? Which arguments are in their favor, which against them? The primary focus are two of the most frequently diagnosed disorders, ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and depression. More controversial categories like “gender dysphoria” or “misophony” serve to exemplify the theoretical critique practically. Finally, the topic is analyzed from a broad social perspective.

In Psyche und psychische Gesundheit (2020) Stephan Schleim talks with other experts. The successful researchers from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland developed promising alternative accounts of mental disorders, but don’t receive much attention yet in the mainstream media. Read the interviews with, among others, professors Jim van Os, Laura Batstra, Ludger Tebartz van Elst, Paul Verhaeghe, and Peter de Jonge.

Note: The eBooks can be accessed for a small price via the publisher’s website (Was sind psychische Störungen? bzw. Psyche & psychische Gesundheit). Stephan Schleim does not receive any earnings from the sale of these books.