The Female Body in Mind introduces new ways of thinking about issues of women's mental health assessment and treatment. Its multidisciplinary approach incorporates social, psychological, biological and philosophical perspectives on the female body.The contributions, from notable academics in the field of women's mental health, examine the relationship between women's bodies, society and culture, demonstrating how the body has become a platform for women's expression of their distress and anguish. The book is divided into six sections, all centred on the theme of the body, covering:

Preface. Part I: The Body at Risk. Malson and Nasser, At Risk by Reason of Gender. Skerdard and Nasser, (Re) Figuring Identities - My Body is What I Am. Part II: The Hurting Body. Bunclark, Deliberate Self Harm. Busuttil, Psychological Trauma and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Treasure, The Trauma of Self Starvation. Morrey, Breast Cancer and Body Image. Part III: The Reproductive Body. Kohen, Women Bodies - Natural History and Biological Programming. Baistow, On Being a Mother - Motherhood and Mental Health. Patrick and O'Keane, Sad Motherhood - An Overview of Perinatal Affective Disorders. Davenport, Flynn and Shaw, Women Who Kill Their Babies. Part IV: The Interactive Body. Harris, Society and Women's Distress. Lee, When the Personal Gets in the Way of the (Inter) Personal. Murray, Care and Blame: The Dialectic of Caring. Bhugra and Chow, Concepts of Body and Self in Minority Groups. Part V: Body Sensitive Therapies. Katzman, Nasser and Noornbas, Feminist Therapies. Schmidt and Sanchez-Ortiz. Self-Help and Healing Narratives. Palmer and Whight, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy: A Treatment for Borderline Personality Disorder. Ohlsen and Pilowsky, Gender and Psychopharmacology. Part VI: The Body On My Mind. Davis and Waterhouse, Do Women Need Specific Services? Ramsay and Dogra, Gender Sensitive Education and Gender Competency Training. The Perspective of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and Beyond.