The Power of Evidence-Based Psychological Therapies

Thrive

The Power of Psychological Therapy

A ground-breaking argument for better treatment of mental health from Richard Layard (author of Happiness) and David M. Clark. 
 
Britain has become a world leader in providing psychological therapies thanks to the work of Richard Layard and David Clark. But, even so, in Britain and worldwide the majority of people who need help still don't get treatment. This is both unjust and a false economy. 
 
This book argues for change. It shows that mental ill-health causes more of the suffering in our society than physical illness, poverty or unemployment. Moreover, greater spending on helping people to recover from mental health problems - and stay well - would generate massive savings to national economies, as those who suffer from depression and anxiety disorders account for nearly a half of all disability and are predominantly of working age. Modern talking therapies, such as CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), are highly effective, and if more sufferers got these treatments, lives would be turned around and the cost would be fully covered by the huge savings. 
 
Thrive explores the new effective solutions to the misery and injustice caused by mental illness. It describes how successful psychological treatments have been developed and explains what works best for whom. It also urges us to do all we can to prevent these problems in the first place, through better schools and a better society. And, most importantly, it offers real hope. 
 
 
'This book is an inspiring success story and a stirring call to further action. Its message is as compelling as it is important: the social costs of mental illness are terribly high and the costs of effective treatments are surprisingly low' Daniel Kahneman 
 
'Extremely easy and pleasurable to read. It's the most comprehensive, humane and generous study of mental illness that I've come across' Melvyn Bragg 
 
'Remarkable . . . presents the issues in a style that easy for the professional, the general public, and policy makers to understand' Aaron T Beck 
 
'Professors Layard and Clark (the Dream Team of British Social Science) make a compelling case for a massive injection of resources into the treatment and prevention of mental illness. This is simply the best book on public policy and mental health ever written' Martin Seligman 
 
 
RICHARD LAYARD is one of the world's leading labour economists, and in 2008 received the IZA International Prize for Labour Economics. A member of the House of Lords, he has done much to raise the public profile of mental health. His 2005 book Happiness has been translated into 20 languages. 
 
DAVID M. CLARK, Professor of Psychology at Oxford, is one of the world's leading experts on CBT, responsible for much progress in treatment methods. With Richard Layard, he was the main driver behind the UK's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

RICHARD LAYARD is one of the world's leading labour economists, and in 2008 received the International Prize for Labour Economics. A member of the House of Lords, he has done much to raise the public profile of mental health. His 2005 book Happiness has been translated into 20 languages. 
 
DAVID M. CLARK, Professor of Psychology at Oxford, is one of the world's leading experts on CBT, responsible for much progress in treatment methods. With Richard Layard, he was the main driver behind the UK's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme.

Lessons from a New Science (Second Edition)

Happiness

Unorthodox, devastatingly straightforward and more provocative of actual thought than 90% of books said to be "thought-provoking". If happiness isn't a political issue, what's the point of politics?

A remarkable book ... which effectively trashes the claim of economics to guide policy for a good society ... read it, and take heart

Fascinating ... argues that we should make happiness, not growth, the object of our economic policies

Richard Layard is a leading economist who believes that the happiness of society does not necessarily equate to its income.  He is best known for his work on unemployment and inequality, whihc provided the intellectual basis for Britain's improved unemployment policies.  He founded the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, and since 2000 he has been a member of the House of Lords.  His research into the subject of happiness brings together findings from such diverse areas as psychology, neuroscience, economics, sociology and philosophy.

In this new edition of his landmark book, Richard Layard shows that there is a paradox at the heart of our lives. Most people want more income. Yet as societies become richer, they do not become happier. This is not just anecdotally true, it is the story told by countless pieces of scientific research. We now have sophisticated ways of measuring how happy people are, and all the evidence shows that on average people have grown no happier in the last fifty years, even as average incomes have more than doubled. In fact, the First World has more depression, more alcoholism and more crime than fifty years ago. This paradox is true of Britain, the United States, continental Europe, and Japan. What is going on? Now fully revised and updated to include developments since first publication, Layard answers his critics in what is still the key book in 'happiness studies'.

Searching for Values in a Competitive Age

A Good Childhood

Richard Layard is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, and author of the best-selling Happiness (Penguin, 2005). He was founder-director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and now heads its programme on well-being. He is also a member of the House of Lords. 
 
Judy Dunn is Professor of Developmental Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London. Her research interests are in children's social, emotional and communicative development, studied in their families and with their friends. She is Chair of the Good Childhood Inquiry.

Every day the newspapers lament the problems facing our children - broken homes, pressures to eat and drink, the stress of exams. The same issues are discussed in every pub and at every dinner party. But is life really more difficult for children than it was, and if so why? And how can we make it better? 
 
This book, which is a result of a two year investigation by the Children's Society and draws upon the work of the UK's leading experts in many fields, explores the main stresses and influences to which every child is exposed - family, friends, youth culture, values, and schooling, and will make recommendations as to how we can improve the upbringing of our children. It tackles issues which affect every child, whatever their background, and questions and provides solutions to the belief that life has become so extraordinarily difficult for children in general. 
 
The experts make 30 specific recommendations, written not from the point of view of academics, but for the general reader - above all for parents and teachers. We expect publication to be a major event and the centre of widespread media attention.

Richard Layard

George Ward

for people who want to understand how both the political economy and psychology influence wellbeing, it's a great primer. The few hours it took me to read it were happy ones.

Layard's pose is lucid and his analysis is spot on... guaranteed to put a smile on every reader's face

Can We Be Happier? is a work of passion, a culmination of decades of research. ...the book is humane'

Evidence and Ethics

Most people now realize that economic growth, however desirable, will not solve all our problems. Instead, we need a philosophy and a science which encompasses a much fuller range of human need and experience. 
 
This book argues that the goal for a society must be the greatest possible all-round happiness, and shows how each of us can become more effective creators of happiness, both as citizens and in our own organizations. 
 
Written with Richard Layard's characteristic clarity, it provides hard evidence that increasing happiness is the right aim, and that it can be achieved. Its language is simple, its evidence impressive, its effect inspiring.

Richard Layard

Praise for Can We Be Happier?

for people who want to understand how both the political economy and psychology influence wellbeing, it's a great primer. The few hours it took me to read it were happy ones.

Layard's pose is lucid and his analysis is spot on... guaranteed to put a smile on every reader's face

Can We Be Happier? is a work of passion, a culmination of decades of research. ...the book is humane'

for people who want to understand how both the political economy and psychology influence wellbeing, it's a great primer. The few hours it took me to read it were happy ones.

Layard's pose is lucid and his analysis is spot on... guaranteed to put a smile on every reader's face

Can We Be Happier? is a work of passion, a culmination of decades of research. ...the book is humane'

for people who want to understand how both the political economy and psychology influence wellbeing, it's a great primer. The few hours it took me to read it were happy ones.

Layard's pose is lucid and his analysis is spot on... guaranteed to put a smile on every reader's face

Can We Be Happier? is a work of passion, a culmination of decades of research. ...the book is humane'

Books by Richard Layard

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter