CPFT psychiatrist publishes book to guide person-centred care
Dr Robert Dudas, consultant old age psychiatrist at CPFT, has edited and published a new book to support best practice for mental health care and recovery.
Written with a host of expert co-authors at CPFT and others over six years, the book explains values-based practice (VPB) and how to design care and treatment around people’s needs, concerns and preferences. Values in Psychiatry: Managing Complexity and Advancing Solutions has now been published by Cambridge University Press this month (July 2025).
Robert (pictured in Cambridge with a copy) said: "Thank you to all my colleagues, co-authors and contributors, and all of the patients I have seen over the years who made this book possible, sharing your insights and expertise. It is the culmination of 25 years in clinical practice, and intended as a guide to help mental health professionals combine the best available research evidence with their clinical experience and individual patients’ values to improve care and treatment. I hope people will enjoy reading the book and find it useful in practice as well as for teaching and training.”
The multidisciplinary team of authors - some current or former colleagues at CPFT, share their knowledge from a variety of professional backgrounds and lived experience including: Dr Ben Underwood, CPFT’s Research and Development Director and honorary consultant old age psychiatrist; Professor German Berrios; Professor Tom Dening; Dr Elizabeth Fistein and Professor John Martin. The Trust’s VPB and philosophy special interest groups helped Robert to refine many of the ideas in the book.
Values in Psychiatry reviews the historical roots and current state of psychiatry, examining the role of people’s values in the development of mental illness and recovery from it. Case studies developed from experience working at CPFT demonstrate the use of clinical value mapping in daily practice as well as in research.
Co-author Dr Ben Underwood said: “I have enjoyed collaborating with Robert and I’m delighted to see this important book in print. Mental illness is such a complex and human subject it is important to take a sophisticated approach in trying to understand it, and that is exactly what this book does!”
The authors demonstrate the importance of integrating biological, psychological, social, and existential perspectives to understand and treat psychiatric conditions, which have many different causes. The book explores values in theory and research and looks at how psychiatry has developed as a medical discipline. The chapters were written for a wide audience, including all mental health professionals, students and academics, as well as patients and carers.
Robert has kindly donated two signed copies of the book to CPFT Library , which are now catalogued and available for everyone at the Trust to borrow.
Values in Psychiatry: Managing Complexity and Advancing Solutions can also be accessed online from Cambridge University Press in paperback and ebook download via this link: https://www.cambridge.org/us/universitypress/subjects/medicine/mental-health-psychiatry-and-clinical-psychology/values-psychiatry-managing-complexity-and-advancing-solutions?format=PB&isbn=9781108793117
