Fired up for change (…). Before reading this book, I thought the crisis in mental health was due to a lack of funding, lack of focus and a dogged dependence on cognitive behavioural therapy. The book did not dispel any of these thoughts. It simply placed them in a larger landscape surrounded by and connected to, a topography of mental health crises, significantly expanding my understanding of how far-reaching the issues are. For a small book, it packs quite a punch. The authors set out their research and explanations for two crises in mental health. Why two crises? The book presents a crisis in our mental health with a wide range of causes and a crisis in the delivery of care to the people who need it. They argue that the 'McDonaldisation' of provision makes mental health a personal crisis for the population at large and those expected to meet commercial targets in the provision of care. Even the definition of typical and atypical mental health seems to have been distorted by commercial interest. (…) Joel Vos offers his own thoughts in six of the ten main chapters, concluding with a glimmer of hope. The final chapter sets out Vos's vision for the future of mental health care with a call for a more holistic approach. All we need now is a societal and political will for change. After finishing the book, I realised how little I had known about the macro issues of mental health. My new understanding of the scale, diagnosis and resolution of mental health issues has left me fired up for change. The impact of this book far exceeds its stature; I expect it to provoke debate and preferably action. The evidence is so compelling that I find myself asking, 'What can we do about this and when will we start?
Stuart Hillston, The Psychologist, British Psychological Society, January 2020