Way forward

This chapter looks at alternative perspectives and interventions around mental health that do not align with the traditional medical model. It considers a range of trauma-informed approaches, including the Soteria houses, the Hearing Voices Network, the Power, Threat, Meaning Framework and solution-focused and strengths-based ideas. I consider the role of activism and include an interview with a child sexual abuse survivor Viv Gordon about her work and perspective on the limitations of the medical model of mental health. I provide some ideas around challenging the mainstream ideas in social work situations, both with families and with professionals, and I end with some ideas from Sami Timimi gleaned from his work as a consultant psychiatrist in a UK CAMHS.