Funny but always poignant and brimming with empathy, this book memorably details patients seen by trainee psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse. The book seeks to inform with useful footnotes to explain a variety of technical terms and useful facts as well as entertain. Many of us have had no dealings with the world of mental health, so this is a useful insider’s view of what goes on. Highly recommend!

Brilliant book! Very well written, and as a former mental health patient, it’s eye opening to the realities of the NHS system. I have severe depression and am agoraphobic, I was hospitalised briefly for feeling suicidal but was released after about 10 days. I felt very let down by the system, I was discharged not long after being released from hospital- having been under the care of a psychiatrist from the age of 15 to about 26. I understand now why, but at the time I was really struggling. Reading this makes me feel so much better about my mental health, I understand that whilst it’s difficult for me, there’s much worse off patients (and probably worse off doctors too lol). I really hope and pray that the NHS receives the funding it desperately needs and deserves. Thank you for being so honest and open about what happens behind the scenes, but also in your life too. As a patient, you think that the doctors have a perfect life- you tend to forget they’re human too.

In a similar vein to Adam Kay, Dr Waterhouse exposes the shortcomings of the mental health care system under the banner of the NHS. Whilst interesting and revealing, I did find the writing style tries just a little too hard at humour, so for me it was often an irritating read.

I'm really intrigued by people's jobs and always enjoy a sneaky behind-the-scenes look at other people's careers. Especially jobs I could never do in a million years - and NHS psychiatrist can definitely be added to this list if this book is anything to go by!

Benji Waterhouse takes us on a journey through his psychiatric career - right from when he chose to specialise in psychiatry through to his various placements as he grapples with the state of mental healthcare in the NHS. Through this, we also learn a bit about Waterhouse's family, his own mental health problems (it's totally normal and actually recommended for psychiatrists to be in therapy themselves) and his feelings about the challenges of the job.

The easy comparison here is Adam Kay - like Kay, Waterhouse is funny and self-deprecating, but also doesn't shy away from the more shocking elements. It's always engaging and eye-opening, but often sad and frustrating too, as a lot of Waterhouse's initial learning seems to be how to discharge patients who he has serious concerns about but for whom there is no available hospital bed. We meet a range of these patients - some 'frequent fliers' who play the system, some tragic and suicidal cases, and some whose mental health challenges have comic elements (although much of the humour is really levelled at Waterhouse himself). It's important to say that Waterhouse doesn't undermine the dignity of the patients - obviously, they are given pseudonyms or are amalgams of cases he's encountered, and their difficulties are presented as (sometimes temporary) ailments or through unusual situations rather than being who they are as people.

I really enjoyed this book, if 'enjoyed' can be the right word for something that raised so many concerns about the broken NHS system of mental healthcare. This is a system stretched to its limits, peopled by those who are doing their best in impossible circumstances and receiving little recognition for their considerable efforts. However, it's also often a warm portrait of patients who Waterhouse clearly cares about deeply. In fact, he comes across well himself too - a caring, if stressed and hardworking doctor with a bit of imposter syndrome and going through an incredibly steep learning curve.

This will make you very glad you're not an NHS psychiatrist, but very grateful for the fact that some people do sign up for it as they're clearly needed. It will definitely make you want mental health services funded properly. It will also raise a few smiles too - there are some lovely comic touches, with the table tennis story being my favourite!

A perceptive read.
The book is written by Benji he’s a psychiatrist in the down trodden NHS , the book charts his career from his very first day as psychiatrist.
We meet patients and their stories and at times brought a few tears , as did the state of the mental health services in this country !
Benji himself has his own issues to work through and he’s written about them in an open and honest way .
This book is full of insights in to the dreadful state of the NHS and its mental health provision and also highlights the hard working people trying to make life better for patients who enter the failing system .
A great book and one that needed to be written!
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK.

This is Benji’s story of how he survived his introduction to being a psychiatrist. With touching and some heartbreaking stories, as well as some which made me smile, he tells of how a lack of funding causes senior staff to appear uncaring, and the stresses that come with that. When Benji talks about his own issues in his regular counselling sessions, we find out about his own haphazard childhood and how that affected his career choice. The pure luck in the Sebastian case is one that really affected me, because of all of the “what ifs?”
I really enjoyed this book and am so glad I read it. I learnt a lot about what is wrong with the mental health system and hope the much needed investment is given. However, it is written in such a way that it is not doom and gloom but really made me smile. Highly recommended.

A great book with a good few laughs in it. A memoir written by a young doctor highlighting how understaffed certain areas are especially mental health.

This started off really well, found myself laughing at the stories but at some point midway through it just started to become a bit tedious and the stories felt less amusing and well written. I feel I might unfairly be comparing this to the Adam Kay diaries which I definitely found to be an easier and more enjoyable read

I do enjoy reading books about people's experiences and especially those in the emergency services or healthcare. It is shocking to read about the ins and outs of psychiatric care within the NHS, an area that I think is often 'forgotten' about and we don't tend to hear too much about the experiences of those working with the sector. A brilliant read, left me frustrated at times that there is not more empathy and compassion within an industry which is supposed to have 'caring' at its core.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

I was tempted to read You Don't Have to be Mad to Work Here after enjoying Adam Kay's first book This is Going to Hurt, a glorious mixture of insight into the workings of the NHS, humour and autobiography. You Don't Have to be Mad... promised the same elements but moved from physical problems to mental illness and the work of a psychiatrist. I did wonder whether it was acceptable to be looking for humour in this setting but the laughter is directed at a situation rather than a person and it is always delivered with empathy and understanding.

Names have been changed to protect the vulnerable. Worryingly, I found many of the problems rang uncomfortable bells from real life. Even more worrying was that I'd never considered that someone with outlandish beliefs needed help rather than laughter. I've not encountered a woman in a wedding dress convinced that she was on her way to St Paul's Cathedral for her wedding to Harry Styles, whom she'd never met but I have been presented with similar beliefs. It's that point where daydreaming and harmless fantasising tip over into mental illness. I would think that most of us have been part way down that road.

I thought that the case of the lorry driver with schizophrenia who believed that he had a coronavirus cure was less outlandish. After all, an American president was keen to take credit for his suggestion that bleach would solve the problem. Some might have thought that his sanity was questionable but nothing was ever done about it.

For me, the saddest case was the depressed man who hid his profession from his GP because he feared that he would be stigmatised. It was hardly surprising when a decision to specialise in psychiatry is described as a waste of a perfectly good doctor - by a medical consultant. It didn't help for the profession to be defined as a social worker with a stethoscope. The job seems to be about saving bed space rather than sanity.

Benji Waterhouse, unlike Adam Kay, is still a practicing doctor and the concern he has for his patients shines through every page of the book. Adam Kay left me with a feeling of dark desperation for the NHS: Waterhouse left me with hope.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy. As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio download (which I bought myself) narrated by Waterhouse. The removal of an extra layer of interpretation provided by author narration added to the experience and it's a book I'll return to.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Statistically, one in four individuals will experience a mental health issue at some point in their lives. Mental illness accounts for 28% of the nation's overall disease burden; however, only 13% of the NHS's funding is allocated to mental health services.

In You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here, NHS psychiatrist Dr Benji Waterhouse provides a raw and unfiltered look at the stark realities of mental health care in the UK, providing a candid and insightful glimpse into the field of psychiatry.

Through a collection of poignant and occasionally humorous anecdotes, Dr Waterhouse delves into the challenges encountered by psychiatry professionals, from managing patients with delusions to addressing the constraints of a healthcare system grappling with limited resources. By highlighting the significant decrease in psychiatry beds from 68,000 in 1988 to just 18,000 in 2019 and its impact on patient care, Dr Waterhouse reveals the urgent necessity for enhanced support and resources in this area of medicine.

Perfect for fans of Adam Kay’s candid style, You Don't Have to Be Mad to Work Here is a must-read that sheds light on the trials and successes of those in the psychiatry field, providing a thought-provoking exploration of mental health care.

I have no idea how to be fair to this book as I disliked the style but garnered all sorts of useful information about the reality of what is truly not "normal".

I came away believing that the old saw - there are more out than in - is 100% true.

The way the book presents itself grated from page 1 but I can almost understand that it needed that "style" be be read by many rather than just a few people.

As to the medico-clinical realities of the mental health system that we have, it is surprising to me that we do not have even more failures in diagnosis and thus even more bad community outcomes.

My thanks to the author for inserting some very worrying, informative and challenging data. If you choose to write a sequel, I look forward to reading it and hope the style of it will be less cringe-worthy.

This book is a memoir of Benji's time working as a junior doctor in psychiatry. It is heartbreaking in places but also full of humour and warmth. The descriptions of the state of the NHS were terrifying but I was still left with a feeling of hope. Well worth a read.

Thanks to @netgalley , the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. You dont have to be mad to work here is out now

I very much enjoyed reading Benji Waterhouse's memoir of his training in the NHS as a Psychiatrist. Not only do we meet his various patients, one of them came to London from America in a wedding dress to get married to Harry Styles, another one thinks he is Jesus and can walk on water, but also get a honest insight into his personal life and his own therapy. As a Pharmacist this was a great and often humorous insight into the world of Psychiatry for me. I devoured this book and would highly recommend it!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Vintage Books for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

I enjoyed this memoir a lot. Benji Waterhouse is a psychiatrist working for the NHS and trying to deal with his own issues alongside those of his patients. The patients often are in awful situations, managing real mental health difficulties but they are often also humorous stories. I particularly liked the American lady who had flown over here for her wedding to Harry Styles and ended up in hospital, and also enjoyed the spectacular table tennis match later in the book..
This book has been compared to This is Going to Hurt, and it’s easy to see the parallels as both doctors struggle with understaffing and underfunding of the NHS. Benji is also having some struggles with his own parents and things from his past, explored with his own therapist. This enduring therapeutic relationship is lovely, as is Benji’s partner.
Very enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book which was alternately funny and sad. Written by an NHS psychiatrist, you can sense his frustration with the NHS and feel how the stresses of job affect him.

Given that Waterhouse is a stand-up comedian who also works on the front line in the NHS and has written a book that takes us through his speciality training in psychiatry, there are comparisons with This is Going to Hurt’s Adam Kay. I haven’t read that book, as it felt like it was going to be a bit too full of gory medical detail for me; this has some gory medical detail but the details are mainly based around grim circumstances and psychological reactions to them, so it’s not a read you have to do from behind the sofa, so to speak.

There are twin narratives here: that of Waterhouse’s journey from junior doctor to consultant and stories of the colleagues and patients he meets along the way; and also his journey through his own mental health struggles and his family background, which is complex and traumatic and needs picking through with his own, rather amusingly described, therapist. This gives interesting angles to the book and makes it more personal, but the two parts are well-balanced in my opinion. We also see Benji’s struggles with relationships and a developing love interest which add depth and also conflict to the book.

Waterhouse is at pains to show us, through work with inpatients and people in the community, the realities of life with perhaps more serious conditions than those that are being talked about a lot at the moment: we’re talking “chronic, severe labels deemed messier, uglier or outright feared – such as schizophrenia or bipolar, personality disorders or substance-misuse disorders”. He works hard to show us the people behind the disorders and the circumstances which have often conspired to give rise to them and/or make them more critical, whether that’s chaotic families and relationships or conditions of poverty and homelessness. Although there’s a vein of the classic dark humour of the paramedic or mental health nurse, he comes across as humane and caring, worrying when he becomes a bit more brisk than he used to be in order to clear beds as he realises the state of the NHS.

I’d say you might need to be feeling like you’re at a resilient time of your life to read this book, but it should also be required reading for NHS bosses, government ministers or those who have a rosy view of mental poor health treatment in the UK.

There’s a list of useful numbers at the back of the book for a range of different needs, which is welcome and nicely done.

Reviews also placed with Shiny New Books (date tbc) and my blog (date tbc)

**In the spirit of full disclosure, I almost gave up in the first couple of pages. In the opening, Dr Waterhouse makes some comments about 'milder, more palatable' mental health and neurodivergent conditions. He references 'anxiety, depression, OCD, Autism and the increasingly diagnosed ADHD' (also known as the 'until now chronically underdiagnosed and mostly affecting women, ADHD'), and then goes on to say that this book is not about those people, rather it is for 'the ones for whom some coldwater swimming and mindful colouring in probably won't cut it.'
I'm not going to into why I think this is an inappropriate and reductive comment to make, as I think it's probably obvious. While I do understand the point he was trying to make, that mental illness is less 'palatable' the worse it gets, there are better ways to do it than creating competition between some of the people who already face tremendous struggles because their conditions aren't 'severe' enough to be taken seriously. Or those who struggle every day with neurodivergencies who are then compared unfavourably to people who have other, also distressing conditions. It shouldn't be a competiton. Ironically enough, colouring in doesn't help millions of people who suffer with OCD the world over either, if only it did. As someone who works very hard alongside organisations to ensure that such conditions are taken seriously to improve the mental health of the individual, sSuffice to say I was disappointed to see a psychiatric doctor say this in the name of entertainment and engagement and I put the book down for a while before deciding whether or not I could see past that comment to give it another go. I did - hence the big gap between start and finish dates - and my review is as follows:**

I love a memoir. And growing up in a medical/services household, I particularly love a memoir that focuses on high-pressure, high-stakes environments and professions, like prisons, hospitals, police, paramedics - so when I saw You Don't Have To Be Mad To Work Here available on NetGalley, I thought it would be right up my street.

Dr Benji Waterhouse is a newly qualified psychiatrist, and we meet him when he is a junior doctor getting to grips with the challenges faced by staff in an overstretched, underfunded NHS hospital. The first thing that becomes apparent is that there is a big shift to come with the optimism that Benji has when he arrives and begins to understand the severity of the disconnect between the ideology that the text books and university lecture have taught him, and the reality of working within a budget, with limited resources, not to mention being responsible for, real life patients. While Benji begins to grow in confidence and expertise, his frustrations rightly grow and he ends up having to go to therapy sessions himself. His own therapist seems to be completely inadequate and inappropriate, being late all the time and falling asleep in sessons, and I felt this was hammed up to add a bit of light entertainment, but if it was, for me it didn't work, it just annoyed me. As we get deeper into the book it seems that Benji does have some serious issues that need to worked out, probably stemming from his less then idyllic childhood, and his resulting sense of self-worth, this is further illustrated by him keeping at a relationship with someone who doesn't seem to be very good for him, and largely ignores his needs to focus on her own. Again, I'm not sure if this is exaggerated, and I think it maybe is meant to be funny (?) but it just fell flat for me and gave me a sense of him being a person who just can't tell people what he wants, or puts up with levels of disrepect that end up winding him up so much he almost, almost, resorts to violence. I hope this is exaggerated and he does get the help he needs.

I did enjoy the descriptions of cases and the poignancy of some of them - especially the ones including Tyson the dog. An animal can truly be our best friend in the darkest of times. I also found the recounting of the moment when Benji caught a news story on the TV and recognised the description of the perpetrator - that was terriying, and really does illustrate what horrors can happen when mental health services are so stretched and underprioritised. People can and will be hurt, and careers will be destroyed. It must feel like living under the axe at times.

I think this book is a bit of a contradicton really. In some parts it's funny and poignant, but on the whole it falls a bit flat for me. The humour is somehow 'off', it feels a bit too try-hard and comes across to me as a bit sad for it. I felt bad for Benji, and unsurprised that he was feeling unfulfilled and unhappy. On the whole, I think if you are interested in the challenges faced by mental health professionals and how it can affect them on a personal level, then you'll find it interesting - and probably quite a frustrating read. There are lots and lots of footnotes, which are excellent at explaining what's going on, but also break up the flow of the book in quite a distracting way - so if you're no good at dipping in and out, you may find this a challenge.

3.5/5

In a similar vein to Adam Kay's briliant and hilarious medical memoir This is going to hurt, this book charts the life of a junior doctor who decides to train in psychiatry. Filled with very funny and also moving anecdotes and patient cases, as well as Waterhouse's honest admissions about his own mental health challenges and the difficulties faced for all NHS workers, this is a vitally important and very readable book that I thoroughly enjoyed.

An absolute joy to read!

This book takes you on an emotional journey throughout. I bonded with Benji immediately and felt his emotions simultaneously.

I would definitely recommend this memoir, it is expertly written, not too medical and gives an insight into psychiatry we could all learn from.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.