Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Human Rights and Wrongs in Psychology and Psychiatry offers a comprehensive, critical examination of how psychological and psychiatric practice can both advance and impede human rights. Bringing together leading thinkers, practitioners, advocates, and service users, this transdisciplinary volume interrogates the ethical, legal, political, and social forces that shape mental health and disability services across the globe. The opening chapters frame the central tension between rights and wrongs in the psych professions and review key international initiatives, including the World Health Organization’s QualityRights programme. Contributors explore how professional practice intersects with politics and social change; the persistent challenges of institutionalization and de-institutionalization; and the evolving debates surrounding euthanasia, assisted suicide, independent living, and assisted decision-making. Several chapters probe the foundations, legitimacy, and consequences of diagnosis, the promise and pitfalls of ethical codes, and the growing role of task-shifting, e-mental health technologies, and rights-based leadership in addressing workforce shortages and improving access to services. Others examine acute ethical dilemmas—moral stress, involuntary treatment, dementia care, use of antipsychotics, and the emergence of advance directives—highlighting the complex realities clinicians face when ideals meet constrained systems. The book foregrounds community perspectives and advocacy, including public and patient/service user involvement, alternative conceptual frameworks, and case studies of grassroots initiatives and constitutional reform. Across 22 chapters, the volume illuminates how disability and mental health systems can be redesigned to respect autonomy, promote inclusion, and respond ethically to human vulnerability. It is essential reading for psychologists, psychiatrists, and other practitioners working in the field, as well as policymakers, researchers, and anyone committed to building mental health and disability services grounded in evidence, human rights, social justice, and meaningful participation.</jats:p>