I picked up Psycho-Logical a few months back with interest both general and professional. I think the first thing that I was most pleasantly surprised by was the balanced, sensitive, and accessible way Burnett introduced the book. The topic being possibly one of the most challenging to manage to avoid controvesy this was probably the least worrisome take you’ll ever read.

In terms of level Psycho-Logical is fairly technical especially as Brunett is more of a neuroscientist so there is a wealth of material on brain science. That said its a straightforward read that I wouldn’t image being too dense for anyone interested in picking it up.

As a behavioural professional I found the book really helpful for fleshing out an area of less proficency of mine and is highly recommended for anyone in a similar boat.

Probably my only beef, and a totally unfair one – is that I simply wish the book could have continued and covered even more areas of mental health. Given the breath of the topic the book fairly covers the most common mental disorders (depression, anxiety etc, and addiction) but I would jump at the chance to read more in the same vein on other challenges/vulnerabilities.

Very much a beginner's introduction to the topic, but still good. Would have been better with pictures - not just in a joke way, but some diagram feedback loops/Venn diagram mental health issue overlaps/ images of the brain with the relevant areas highlighted, would have really added to this I think.

Er... Maybe I'm not the targeted audience?

The first 2 chapters are all about describing what the book will be about but never actually starting.

The specific chapters on Depression, Anxiety and Addiction have a few interesting points here and there but overall it was still full of "we'll get to that later" and it felt like the authors were going around and around on the topic and never actually explaining things satisfactory.

It might be really interesting if you've never read anything about mental health. Otherwise, there's not much new there to learn.

Thank you NetGalley and Faber Books for the ARC!

In this book, neuroscientist Dean Burnett explains what happens in the brain when we suffer anxiety, depression, addiction... It is scientifically explained and it also includes insights of people who are dealing with their mental health problems. It is written in an honest and entertaining manner.

Personally, I found it a bit repetitive, but that is because I have a degree in Psychology so everything that is explained in the book I already read it before. It actually brought me back to my uni years where I had some really good lecturers!

For those who are new to this or have read very little, it will help you a lot to understand how the brain works. I do recommend it.