Storying Mental Illness and Personal Recovery

Storying Mental Illness and Personal Recovery
Author: Dorthe Kirkegaard Thomsen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre: Identity (Psychology)
ISBN: 9781009301138

"This book contains excerpts of life stories from 118 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and major depressive disorder. This library of personal narratives, heavily reproduced and quoted throughout the text, presents a composite image of the ways in which narrative identity can be affected by mental illness while also being a resource for personal recovery. Those researching, studying or practicing in mental health professions will find a wealth of humanizing first-person perspectives on mental illness that foster perspectivetaking and aid patient-centered treatment and study. Researchers of narrative psychology will find a unique set of life stories synthesized with existing literature on identity and recovery. Moving towards intervention, the authors include a 'guide for narrative repair' with the aim of healing narrative identity damage and fostering growth of adaptive narrative identity"--

Storying Mental Illness and Personal Recovery

Storying Mental Illness and Personal Recovery
Author: Dorthe Kirkegaard Thomsen
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2023-01-31
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1108830455

An exploration of the interplay between mental illness and narrative identity, offering pathways to personal recovery.

Personal Recovery and Mental Illness

Personal Recovery and Mental Illness
Author: Mike Slade
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2009-05-28
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0521746582

Focuses on a shift away from traditional clinical preoccupations towards new priorities of supporting the patient.

The Stigma of Mental Illness - End of the Story?

The Stigma of Mental Illness - End of the Story?
Author: Wolfgang Gaebel
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 648
Release: 2016-08-10
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3319278398

This book makes a highly innovative contribution to overcoming the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness – still the heaviest burden both for those afflicted and those caring for them. The scene is set by the presentation of different fundamental perspectives on the problem of stigma and discrimination by researchers, consumers, families, and human rights experts. Current knowledge and practice used in reducing stigma are then described, with information on the programmes adopted across the world and their utility, feasibility, and effectiveness. The core of the volume comprises descriptions of new approaches and innovative programmes specifically designed to overcome stigma and discrimination. In the closing part of the book, the editors – all respected experts in the field – summarize some of the most important evidence- and experience-based recommendations for future action to successfully rewrite the long and burdensome ‘story’ of mental illness stigma and discrimination.

Behind the Wall

Behind the Wall
Author: Mary Widdifield
Publisher: Hillcrest Publishing Group
Total Pages: 323
Release: 2015-04-07
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1634132041

Mental illness profoundly impacts family and loved ones. These seven true stories told by nine parents were selected from interviews conducted by sisters, Mary and Elin Widdifield, and interwoven with one sisters own experiences. Told with remarkable candor, these stories offer more insight than any single story or academic analysis. Behind the Wall provides a shared voice for millions of people who advocate for a child or loved one who lives with mental illness, fosters a better understanding for society at-large, and delivers a compelling and ultimately hopeful read for anyone fascinated by the human condition. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly twenty million Americans ages eighteen and older suffer from a serious mental illness. Sixty million - about one in four adults - suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. Factor in the family members profoundly affected by a loved one's disorder and mental illness touches virtually all of us. Yet it remains a subject that is often misunderstood, rarely talked about, and frequently stigmatizing. When mental illness enters the national discussion, it typically comes in the wake of a violent tragedy, attracting temporary attention and further misunderstanding. Behind the Wall posits that while mental health professionals and policy makers provide invaluable perspectives, the true story of mental Illness can be told most accurately by the people in the trenches: the parents who watched it all unfold with their child in harrowing and heartfelt detail. Book jacket.

My Schizophrenic Life

My Schizophrenic Life
Author: Sandra Yuen MacKay
Publisher: Bridgeross Communications
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2010
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0981003796

Early in her life, Sandra started to exhibit the symptons of paranoid schizophrenia which came as a surprise to her unsuspecting family. Her book chronicles her struggles, hospitalisations, encounters with professionals, return to school, eventual marriage and success as an artist, writer, and advocate.

Narratives of Recovery from Mental Illness

Narratives of Recovery from Mental Illness
Author: Mike Watts
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2016-07-15
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317536347

Narratives of Recovery from Mental Illness presents research that challenges the prevailing view that recovery from ‘mental illness’ must take place within the boundaries of traditional mental health services. While Watts and Higgins accept that medical treatment may be a vital start to some people’s recovery, they argue that mental health problems can also be resolved through everyday social interactions, and through peer and community support. Using a narrative approach, this book presents detailed recovery stories of 26 people who received various diagnoses of ‘mental illness’ and were involved in a mutual help group known as ‘GROW’. Drawing on an in-depth analysis of each story, chapters offer new understandings of the journey into mental distress and a progressive entrapment through a combination of events, feelings, thoughts and relationships. The book also discusses the process of ongoing personal liberation and healing which assists recovery, and suggests that friendship, social involvement, compassion, and nurturing processes of change all play key factors in improved mental well-being. This book provides an alternative way of looking at ‘mental illness’ and demonstrates many unexplored avenues and paths to recovery that need to be considered. As such, it will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, nursing, social work and occupational therapy, as well as to service providers, policymakers and peer support organisations. The narratives of recovery within the book should also be a source of hope to people struggling with ‘mental illness’ and emotional distress

Recovery of People with Mental Illness

Recovery of People with Mental Illness
Author: Abraham Rudnick
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 344
Release: 2012-08-30
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 019165499X

It is only in the past 20 years that the concept of 'recovery' from mental health has been more widely considered and researched. Before then, it was generally considered that 'stability' was the best that anyone suffering from a mental disorder could hope for. But now it is recognised that, throughout their mental illness, many patients develop new beliefs, feelings, values, attitudes, and ways of dealing with their disorder. The notion of recovery from mental illness is thus rapidly being accepted and is inserting more hope into mainstream psychiatry and other parts of the mental health care system around the world. Yet, in spite of conceptual and other challenges that this notion raises, including a variety of interpretations, there is scarcely any systematic philosophical discussion of it. This book is unique in addressing philosophical issues - including conceptual challenges and opportunities - raised by the notion of recovery of people with mental illness. Such recovery - particularly in relation to serious mental illness such as schizophrenia - is often not about cure and can mean different things to different people. For example, it can mean symptom alleviation, ability to work, or the striving toward mental well-being (with or without symptoms). The book addresses these different meanings and their philosophical grounds, bringing to the fore perspectives of people with mental illness and their families as well as perspectives of philosophers, mental health care providers and researchers, among others. The important new work will contribute to further research, reflective practice and policy making in relation to the recovery of people with mental illness.It is essential reading for philosophers of health, psychiatrists, and other mental care providers, as well as policy makers.

Wellbeing, Recovery and Mental Health

Wellbeing, Recovery and Mental Health
Author: Mike Slade
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2017-02-01
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1316839567

This book brings together two bodies of knowledge - wellbeing and recovery. Wellbeing and 'positive' approaches are increasingly influencing many areas of society. Recovery in mental illness has a growing empirical evidence base. For the first time, overlaps and cross-fertilisation opportunities between the two bodies of knowledge are identified. International experts present innovations taking place within the mental health system, which include wellbeing-informed new therapies, e-health approaches and peer-led recovery communities. State-of-the-art applications of wellbeing to the wider community are also described, across education, employment, parenting and city planning. This book will be of interest to anyone connected with the mental health system, especially people using and working in services, and clinical and administrators leaders, and those interested in using research from the mental health system in the wider community.

SURVIVING MENTAL ILLNESS

SURVIVING MENTAL ILLNESS
Author: Linda Naomi Katz
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2012-03-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1432783998

Written from the perspective of someone whose life has been challenged by mental illness, this book offers help, hope, and inspiration to others struggling with psychological disorders. It provides information about mental illness in general—and mood disorders in particular—valuable tips about treatment and medication, and resources and organizations dedicated to helping those suffering from these disorders. Surviving Mental Illness helps break through the fear and stigma of mental illness and focuses on how to find health and happiness. The author shares her personal journey: the heartbreak and challenges of bipolar disorder, and the joy of making her way back to mental health. Through her own story, she shows that help is out there, and with a little faith, recovery is possible. My faith in G-d has led me to recover in ways you cannot imagine. Life is having faith to overcome any obstacles, and that is what my recovery from mental illness is all about.