In the coming years the World Health Organization predicts that depression will rank just behind heart conditions in terms of the global disease burden. Yet, according to a provocative new book, mental health systems often reinforce the depressive disorders they aim to treat.

"Depression and Globalisation is an important academic text on the political aspects of depression, specifically the relationship between globalisation and depression. In this text Dr. Walker reestablishes the link between mental health research and treatment, along with the political and economical influences outside the world of academic and clinical mental health. Overall, this book will accomplish the task of how closely and inextricably linked these diverse fields are and the way they operate together to produce not only a cultural representation of mental illness but influence the extent and type of mental distress in the 21st century. TOC:Depression.- 1. What is depression? .- 2. The stigma of depression: history and context.- Globalization.- 3. The New Right and the 1980s.- 4. Globalization: definitions and debates.- Mental Health.- 5. The structures of society and depression.- 6. The mental health sciences and the depression industry.- 7. Depression and the future."

Depression.- What Is Depression?.- The Stigma of Depression: History and Context.- Globalization.- The New Right and the 1980s.- Globalization: Definitions and Debates.- Mental Health.- The Structures of Society and Depression.- The Mental Health Sciences and the Depression Industry.- Depression and the Future.