In The Unfragile Mind, Gavin Francis draws on conversations with patients, colleagues and his 30 years of practice to explore the chequered history of psychiatry.

A GP and urgent care physician with a special interest in mental health, his explorations include the nature of mental health and ill health, and the problems that he addresses daily, including mood disorders, trauma, anxiety and addiction.

Up to a quarter of young people in the UK now suffer from a mental disorder, while one in four adults is prescribed psychiatric medication. These numbers represent a huge recent expansion in mental health labelling, but reveal nothing of the experience of those seeking help.

The mind, he argues, is dynamic and adaptive, and better addressed – not with rigid labels and protocols – but with curiosity, kindness, humility and hope.

Gavin Francis is the best-selling author of Adventures in Human Being, Shapeshifters and Intensive Care.