This text offers a description and analysis of the central developments and controversies in European mental health systems, from 1980 to the present day. Taking into account the different stakeholders - including users and carers, women and ethnic minorities - it covers the conceptual and practice-based changes in the way serious mental illness, and people suffering from it, are approached today. It should thus be of value to students, policy-makers, researchers and practitioners in the mental health field.
