Silver - Psychotherapeutic approaches to schizophrenic psychoses : past, present and future

Series editor: Brian Martindale

The ISPS (the International Society for the Psychological Treatments of the Schizophrenias and other Psychoses) has a history stretching back more than fifty years during which it has witnessed the relentless pursuit of biological explanations for psychosis. The tide is now turning again. There is a welcome international resurgence of interest in a range of psychological factors in psychosis that have considerable explanatory power and also distinct therapeutic possibilities. Governments, professional groups, users and carers are increasingly expecting interventions that involve more talking and listening. Many now regard skilled practitioners in the main psychotherapeutic modalities as important components of the care of the seriously mentally ill.

The ISPS is a global society. It is composed of an increasing number of groups of professionals, family members, those with vulnerability to psychosis and others, who are organised at national, regional and more local levels around the world. Such persons recognise the potential humanitarian and therapeutic potential of skilled psychological understanding and therapy in the field of psychosis. Our members cover a wide spectrum of approaches from psychodynamic, systemic, cognitive, and arts therapies to the need-adaptive approaches, group therapies and therapeutic institutions. We are most interested in establishing meaningful dialogue with those practitioners and researchers who are more familiar with biological based approaches. Our activities include regular international and national conferences, newsletters and email discussion groups in many countries across the world.

One of our activities is in the field of publication. Routledge have recognised the importance of our field, publishing the ISPS journal Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches www.isps.org/journal.shtml. The journal complements Routledges publishing of the ISPS book series which started in 2004. The books aim to cover many topics within the spectrum of the psychological therapies of psychosis and their application in a variety of settings. The series is intended to inform and further educate a wide range of mental health professionals as well as those developing and implementing policy.

Some of the books will also promote the ideas of clinicians and researchers well known in some countries but not familiar to others. Our overall intention is to encourage the dissemination of existing knowledge and ideas, promote healthy debate, and encourage more research in a most important field whose secrets almost certainly do not all reside in the neurosciences.

For more information about the ISPS, email

Other titles in the series

Models of Madness: Psychological, Social and Biological Approaches to Schizophrenia

Edited by John Read, Loren R.Mosher & Richard P.Bentall

Psychoses: An Integrative Perspective

Johan Cullberg

Evolving Psychosis: Different Stages, Different Treatments

Edited by Jan Olav Johanessen, Brian V.Martindale & Johan Cullberg

Family and Multi-Family work with Psychosis

Gerd-Ragna Bloch Thorsen, Trond Gronnestad & Anne Lise Oxenvad

Experiences of Mental Health In-Patient Care: Narratives from Service Users, Carers and Professionals

Edited by Mark Hardcastle, David Kennard, Sheila Grandison & Leonard Fagin

Psychotherapies for Psychoses: Theoretical, Cultural, and Clinical Integration

Edited by John Gleeson, Ein Killackey & Helen Krstev

Therapeutic Communities for Psychosis: Philosophy, History and Clinical Practice

Edited by John Gale, Alba Realpe & Enrico Pedriali

Beyond Medication: Therapeutic Engagement and the Recovery from Psychosis

Edited by David Garfield and Daniel Mackler

Making Sense of Madness: Contesting the Meaning of Schizophrenia

Jim Geekie and John Read

LONDON AND NEW YORK