Richard Bentall
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Richard Bentall (born 30 September 1956) is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Sheffield in the UK.


Early life

Richard Pendrill Bentall was born in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
in the United Kingdom. After attending
Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson (rector), Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oa ...
in
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
and then
High Storrs School High Storrs School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form college with academy status located on the south-western outskirts of Sheffield, England. The main school building is Grade II listed. It moved to its current site in 1933. The sch ...
in his home town, he attended the
University College of North Wales , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...
, Bangor as an undergraduate before registering for a PhD in
Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...
at the same institution.


Career

After being awarded his doctorate, he moved to the
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
to undertake professional training as a clinical psychologist. He later returned to his alma mater of Liverpool to work as a lecturer, after a brief stint working for the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
as a forensic clinical psychologist. Later, he studied for an MA in Philosophy Applied to Healthcare from the
University of Wales, Swansea , former_names=University College of Swansea, University of Wales Swansea , motto= cy, Gweddw crefft heb ei dawn , mottoeng="Technical skill is bereft without culture" , established=1920 – University College of Swansea 1996 – University of Wa ...
. He was eventually promoted to Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool. In 1999, he accepted a position at the University of Manchester, collaborating with researchers based there who were working in understanding the treatment of psychotic experiences. After returning in 2007 to a professorial position at
Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...
, where he retains an honorary professorship, he returned to the
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
in 2011, before moving to the University of Sheffield in 2017. His research continues to focus on the psychological mechanisms of severe mental illness and social factors that affect these mechanisms, which has led to a recent interest in public mental health. In 1989, he received the
British Psychological Society The British Psychological Society (BPS) is a representative body for psychologists and psychology in the United Kingdom. History It was founded on 24 October 1901 at University College London (UCL) as ''The Psychological Society'', the organ ...
's Division of Clinical Psychology 'May Davidson Award', an annual award for outstanding contributions to the field of clinical psychology, in the first ten years after qualifying. In 2014 he was elected a
Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...
, the United Kingdom's
national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...
for the humanities and social sciences.


Research

He has previously published research on differences between human and animal
operant conditioning Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
and on the treatment of
chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...
. However, he is best known for his work in
psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...
, especially the psychological processes responsible for
delusions A delusion is a false fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some o ...
and
hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the qualities of a real perception. Hallucinations are vivid, substantial, and are perceived to be located in external objective space. Hallucination is a combinatio ...
and has published extensively in these areas. His research on persecutory (paranoid) delusions has explored the idea that these arise from dysfunctional attempts to regulate self-esteem, so that the paranoid patient attributes negative experiences to the deliberate actions of other people. His research on hallucinations has identified a failure of source monitoring (the process by which events are attributed to either the self or external sources) as responsible for hallucinating patients' inability to recognise that their inner speech (verbal thought) belongs to themselves. Along with many other British researchers, he has used these discoveries to inform the development of new psychological interventions for psychosis, based on
cognitive behavioural therapy Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to reduce symptoms of various mental health conditions, primarily depression and anxiety disorders. CBT focuses on challenging and changing cognitive distortions (su ...
(CBT). This work has included randomised controlled trials of CBT for first episode patients and patients experiencing an
at risk mental state At risk mental state is the clinical presentation of those considered at risk of developing psychosis or schizophrenia. Such states were formerly considered treated as prodromes, emerging symptoms of psychosis, but this view is no longer prevalent a ...
for psychosis. In a 1992 thought experiment, Bentall proposed that happiness might be classified as a psychiatric disorder. The purpose of the paper was to demonstrate the impossibility of defining psychiatric disorder without reference to values. The paper was mentioned on the satirical television program '' Have I Got News for You'' and quoted by the novelist
Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...
in his novel ''
Sabbath's Theater ''Sabbath's Theater'' is a novel by Philip Roth about the exploits of 64-year-old Mickey Sabbath. It won the 1995 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. The cover is a detail of ''Sailor and Girl'' (1925) by German painter Otto Dix. Summary and t ...
''. He has edited and written several books, most notably '' Madness Explained'', which was winner of the British Psychological Society Book Award in 2004. In this book, he advocates a psychological approach to the
psychoses Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior t ...
, rejects the concept of
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
and considers
symptom Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormality showin ...
s worthwhile investigating in contrast to the Kraepelinian
syndrome A syndrome is a set of medical signs and symptoms which are correlated with each other and often associated with a particular disease or disorder. The word derives from the Greek σύνδρομον, meaning "concurrence". When a syndrome is paired ...
s. (Refuting ''Kraepelin's big idea'' that serious mental illness can be divided into discrete types is the starting chapter of the book.) A review by Paul Broks in ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' summarised its position as: "Like Szasz, Bentall is firmly opposed to the biomedical model, but he also takes issue with extreme social relativists who would deny the reality of madness." In the book, Bentall also argues that no clear distinction exists between those diagnosed with mental illnesses and the "well". While this notion is more widely accepted in psychiatry when it comes to
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
and depression, Bentall insists that
schizotypal Schizotypal personality disorder (STPD or SPD), also known as schizotypal disorder, is a mental and behavioral disorder. DSM classification describes the disorder specifically as a personality disorder characterized by thought disorder, paran ...
experiences are also common. In 2009 he published '' Doctoring The Mind: Is Our Current Treatment Of Mental Illness Really Any Good?'' A review of this book by neuro-scientist Roy Sugarman argued that it allied itself with the
anti-psychiatry Anti-psychiatry is a movement based on the view that psychiatric treatment is often more damaging than helpful to patients, highlighting controversies about psychiatry. Objections include the reliability of psychiatric diagnosis, the questionabl ...
movement in its critiques of
biological psychiatry Biological psychiatry or biopsychiatry is an approach to psychiatry that aims to understand mental disorder in terms of the biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several uni ...
. The review in ''
PsycCRITIQUES ''PsycCRITIQUES'' was a Bibliographic database, database of reviews of books, videos, and popular films published by the American Psychological Association. It replaced the print journal ''Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books'', which was p ...
'' was more nuanced, pointing out that Bentall did not reject psycho-pharmacology, but that he was concerned over its overuse. In 2010, Bentall and John Read co-authored a literature review on "The effectiveness of
electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroco ...
" (ECT). It examined placebo-controlled studies and concluded ECT had minimal benefits for people with depression and
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
. The authors said "given the strong evidence of persistent and, for some, permanent brain dysfunction, primarily evidenced in the form of retrograde and anterograde amnesia, and the evidence of a slight but significant increased risk of death, the cost-benefit analysis for ECT is so poor that its use cannot be scientifically justified".
Psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
s, however, sharply criticized this paper in passing by calling it an "''evidence-poor paper with an anti-ECT agenda''". In 2012, Bentall and collaborators in Maastricht published a meta-analysis of the research literature on childhood trauma and psychosis, considering epidemiological, case-control, and prospective studies. This study found that the evidence that childhood trauma confers a risk of adult psychosis is highly consistent, with children who have experienced trauma (sexual abuse, physical abuse, loss of a parent or bullying) being approximately three times more likely to become psychotic than non-traumatised children; there was a dose-response effect (the most severely traumatised children were even more likely to become psychotic) suggesting that the effect is causal. This finding, and other findings suggesting that there are many social risk factors for severe mental illness, has led to Bentall's current interest in public mental health.


Bibliography

* (The UK title is ''Doctoring the Mind: Why Psychiatric Treatments Fail'') * * * * *Morrison, A. P. & Renton, & J & French P & Bentall, R. P. (2008) ''Think You're Crazy? Think Again: A Resource Book for Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis'' London: Routledge. *Bentall, R. P. (2003) ''Madness Explained: Psychosis and Human Nature'' London: Penguin Books Ltd. *Bentall, Richard (1999). Why There Will Never Be a Convincing Theory of Schizophrenia. In S. Rose (ed). ''From brains to consciousness? Essays on the new sciences of mind'' London: Penguin Books. *Bentall, R. P. & Slade, P. D. (eds) (1992) ''Reconstructing Schizophrenia'' London: Routledge. *Bentall, R. P. & Slade, P. D. (1988) ''Sensory Deception: A Scientific Analysis of Hallucination'' Johns Hopkins University Press.


See also

* Spectrum (psychiatry)


References


External links


Richard Bentall staff profile University of Bangor
guest blog entry in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' (4 January 2010) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bentall, Richard 1956 births Living people Anti-psychiatry British psychologists Schizophrenia researchers Fellows of the British Academy Academics of the University of Sheffield Clinical psychologists Alumni of Bangor University Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Swansea University