This four-volume Major Work compiles literature which deals with conditions that - in recent parlance in Western societies - have come to be labelled as 'common mental health problems'. The articles within these volumes explore the causes and understandings and prevention and treatment of mental health problems, drawing upon philosophical, conceptual, historical and empirical discussions of fear and sadness. The set focuses on ontology (what exactly is a 'common mental health problem'?), as well as diverse views about epistemology. These include different perspectives about how misery in its various forms in recent times in the West has been turned into a set of medical conditions and the different forms of favoured knowledge developed by both clinical and non-clinical researchers.

This collection offers a broad and inclusive view of the field, providing depth and breadth for the reader and a comprehensive and nuanced account of a highly contested field.

Volume One: Misery Across Time and Place
Volume Two: Medical Approaches to Common Mental Health Problems
Volume Three: Psychological Approaches to Common Mental Health Problems
Volume Four: The Social Context of Common Mental Health Problems