Chapter 1: Why Talk about Madness?.- Chapter 2: Asylum Archives and Cases as Stories.- Chapter 3: The Asylum and its Afterlife.- Chapter 4: Extra-Institutional Care, or Madness Uncontained.- Chapter 5: Talking about Mental Health and the Politics of Madness.- Chapter 6: What’s the Story?.- Appendix 1: Mad Studies Conferences, Symposia and Events, 2014-2019.- Appendix 2: Mad Studies Networks and Social Media.- Index.-

‘Mental breakdown is as old as humanity, but there are, it turns out, a host of new ways of thinking and talking about it. Catharine Coleborne’s book provides an expert and highly readable overview of “the new mad studies.” Drawing on her career-long research in the field, Coleborne guides us through the most recent and provocative ideas about human madness. … Among the plethora of books on this vexing subject, Coleborne’s concise account strikes me as the most up-to-date, interesting, and the best informed.’ —Mark Micale, Emeritus Professor, University of Illinois, USAThis short book argues for the relevance of historical perspectives on mental health, exploring how these histories can and should inform debates about mental healthcare today. Why is it important to study the history of madness? What does it mean to voice these histories? What can these tell us about the challenges and legacies of mental health care across the world today? Offeringan intervention into new ways of thinking – and talking – about ‘mad’ history, Catharine Coleborne explores the social and cultural impact of the history of the mad movement, self-help and mental health consumer advocacy from the 1960s inside a longer tradition of ‘writing madness’. Starting with a brief history of the relevance of first-person accounts, then looking at the significance of other ways of representing the psychiatric ‘patient’, ‘survivor’ or ‘consumer’ over time, this book aims to escape from dominant modes of writing about the asylum.  

“An enjoyable read without feeling onerous. It is highly accessible, informative, and most importantly centres the reader within key debates in historical studies of madness. … each chapter is brief, accessible, and clear, and is accompanied by a useful list of suggested readings for the reader who wants to take their study further. … It is an excellent example of historical writing for a general audience, as well as a wonderful resource for historians and students of history.” (Gemma Lucy Smart, Health and History, Vol. 23 (2), 2021)

“Mental breakdown is as old as humanity, but there are, it turns out, a host of new ways of thinking and talking about it. Catharine Coleborne’s book provides an expert and highly readable overview of “the new mad studies”. Drawing on her career-long research in the field, Coleborne guides us through the most recent and provocative ideas about human madness. … Among the plethora of books on this vexing subject, Coleborne’s concise account strikes me as the most up-to-date, interesting, and the best informed.” (Mark Micale, Emeritus Professor, University of Illinois, USA)

Opens up new discussions about the value of historical perspectives on mental health to contemporary research and policy Argues that we must engage with and make public historical narratives of madness in order to understand institutional mental healthcare today Draws on transnational case studies from the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand