Four Questions About Violence : Insights from a Forensic Psychiatrist

The Sunday Times bestselling author of The Devil You Know and leading forensic psychiatrist Dr Gwen Adshead reckons with our attitudes towards violence and punishment.

''A bold message.'' Sunday Times

Is violence normal? Is evil ever a useful concept? Does trauma cause it? And can we change violent minds?

For Dr Gwen Adshead, these are the most common questions she is asked about her work as a psychiatrist and psychotherapist in secure hospitals and prisons. Her answers are drawn from over 30 years of working with violence perpetrators, and the insights she has gained from listening to the stories of those who have committed acts of violence and cruelty.

Adshead pays attention to an aspect of humanity we often find hard to comprehend and invites us to do the same as she considers the motivations, the risk factors, the social roots of violence and the rehabilitation of perpetrators. Compassion is central to Adshead’s approach as she delves into the development of the mind and deepens our understanding of the human capacity for cruelty but also for change. Expanding on her galvanising 2024 Reith Lectures and including a new essay on good mental health, this is a potent, humane and transformative read.

**Gwen Adshead''s new book Unspeakable: The Language of Trauma and Healing will publish in February 2026**