The Modern Psychiatrist’s Guide to Contemporary Practice provides an overview of psychiatry, starting with the most fundamental question of all: why does psychiatry exist? Key topics are covered, such as: diagnosing mental illness, controversial treatments, involuntary admission, human rights, suicide, and global inequality. The book incorporates history, medicine, neuroscience, service development, legislation, and service-user movements. It summarises key findings and discussions, provides opinions based on evidence, presents clear conclusions, and describes useful, radical directions for the future of this most contested of medical disciplines. Each chapter includes useful chapter summaries and case studies are provided throughout. This book is essential for mental health workers and trainees, academics, and those interested in what psychiatry is, why it exists, and its future potential. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY)] 4.0 license.