Download or read book The Social Construction of Mental Illness and Its Implications for Neuroplasticity written by Michael T. Walker and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2016-09-14 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Social Construction of Mental Illness and Its Implications for Neuroplasticity examines how the current concept of mental illness in society informs the dialogic skills and perspectives of psychotherapists. The common interpretation of unconventional behavior as a symptom of illness has marginalized the creative class and deterred mental health professionals from developing the skills and perspectives needed to empower their clients. Too often the neuroplasticity of the human brain is ignored in favor of the organizing metaphor of chemical imbalance which often results in the relegation of clients’ needs to the pharmaceutical industry. Michael T. Walker encourages psychotherapists to evolve their practice by considering the new information available in neuroscience, psychotherapy outcome studies, and postmodern psychotherapies.