Book excerpt: Accessible and practical, Deconstructing Psychopathology provides a critical perspective on the institutions, practices, and presuppositions that underlie the study of psychopathology. The authors, who come from such areas as clinical psychology, psychiatric social work, psychoanalysis, and action research, challenge the traditions of the field in three ways: First, they analyze the notion of psychopathology as a conventional term in psychology and psychiatry, through the language and institutions that keep it in place. Next, they explore the deconstructive responses and resources and their implications for the theoretical practices that sustain clinical treatments. And finally, they offer an alternative way of seeing psychopathology along with practical models for critical professional work and good practice.