Naturalism, Interpretation, and Mental Disorder is an original new work focusing on the challenges we face when trying to interpret and understand mental illness. The book integrates a hermeneutical perspective, and shows how such an approach can reveal important facts about historical sources in psychiatry, and the nature of dialogue in the therapeutic encounter.

In a therapeutic encounter, the dialogue between therapist and client, along with the specific language used by a client to express thoughts, emotions, desires, and beliefs reveals much about their inner state. Yet, too often this vital aspect of the encounter is overlooked when considering and treating mental disorder. This book is unique in integrating a hermeneutical perspective to understanding mental illness - one that places an emphasis on analysing and interpreting the language used within a therapeutic encounter, whilst also considering the context in which it is expressed. Within the book, the reader will how learn such an approach can reveal more about mental illness than some of the more traditional psychiatric methods currently used today. In addition, the book shows us how a hermeneutically informed approach can be valuable for understanding the concept of mental disorder itself, making it valuable for all those within the fields of psychiatry and philosophy of mind. Naturalism, interpretation, and mental disorder' brings fresh thinking to the field of philosophy and psychiatry, and will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of mental health and philosophy of mind.

This is a philosophical evaluation of the problems inherent in coming to understand and decide if certain human behavior and emotional states are in fact illnesses. . . and does bring to light an interesting perspective.