Book excerpt: What is critical health psychology? How is it changing the way we think about topics like ageing, the community and gender? What can it tell us about our understanding of health and illness? The second edition of this highly regarded text has been thoroughly updated to take account of the changes in the field over the last decade. It includes new chapters on ageing and health, critical disability studies and critical anthropology, and it features contributions from world leading researchers. Examining the debates and disputes that lie at the heart of health psychology, this new edition offers a refreshing critical perspective. It is invaluable reading for students of health psychology, critical psychology and community psychology.