ABSTRACT
Mention ‘mental illness’ and the word ‘mental’ often strikes fear into the hearts of the general population of this country. Mention of a person being ‘mentally ill’, or looking at a referral letter which alludes to a history of mental illness or to a particular condition that has been diagnosed, and many counsellors begin to become exceptionally wary and to also realise that they too are perhaps afraid. Stigma is something that pervades society and it is particularly subversive in the area of mental illness (Carter, 2005). Furthermore, all those working in today’s society need to be aware of the contexts of culture, ethnicity and racism with reference to our perception of mental illness. Maurice Lipsedge (Chapter 6) takes us further along the path of understanding that is introduced with a quotation from Jonathan Miller in the chapter by Helen Lester (Chapter 4).
