The Italian Psychiatric Experience

The Italian Psychiatric Experience
Author: Alessandro De Risio
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1527540103

The 1978 Italian Psychiatric Reform was welcomed as a significant advancement in the care of the mentally ill, as it involved, for the first time ever, the complete shutdown of psychiatric hospitals in a major Western country. Today, Italian psychiatry is totally different from that of the rest of the world, due to its complete commitment to community care. The transition towards the community model was appraised by many relevant international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation, as a fundamental step towards a better quality of life, well-being and social functioning of persons with mental diseases. This passage wasn’t easy, however, and the closure of Italian psychiatric hospitals was accompanied by notable setbacks in the treatment of the most severely affected persons, who often faced the inadequacy of a ‘crisis management’ system of care rejecting interventions in the long-term. In past decades, pro-reform authors also tended to refuse criticism of such obstacles, due to their extreme commitment towards the principles that inspired their practice. This book provides a much-needed appraisal of the 1970s Italian Psychiatric Reform. With an independent viewpoint, it highlights the often-overlooked shortcomings of the reform, while also presenting a multi-faceted view in contrast with the ‘single-vision’ attitude often adopted in existing studies on this topic.

Psychiatry in Transition

Psychiatry in Transition
Author: Shulamit Ramon
Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
Total Pages: 288
Release: 1988-01
Genre: Community mental health services
ISBN: 9780745301778

The Crucible of Experience

The Crucible of Experience
Author: Daniel Burston
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2000-05-19
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780674002173

One of the great rebels of psychiatry, R. D. Laing challenged prevailing models of madness and the nature and limits of psychiatric authority. In this brief and lucid book, Laing’s widely praised biographer distills the essence of Laing’s vision, which was religious and philosophical as well as psychological. The Crucible of Experience reveals Laing’s philosophical debts to existentialism and phenomenology in his theories of madness and sanity, family theory and family therapy. Daniel Burston offers the first detailed account of Laing’s practice as a therapist and of his relationships—often contentious—with his friends and sometime disciples. Burston carefully differentiates between Laing and “Laingians,” who were often clearer, more confident, and more simplistic than their teacher. While he examines Laing’s theories of madness, Burston focuses most provocatively on Laing’s views of sanity and normality and on his recognition, toward the end of his life, of the essential place of holiness in human experience. In a powerful last chapter, Burston shows that Laing foresaw the present commercialization of medicine and asked pointed questions about what the meaning of sanity and the future of psychotherapy in such a world could be. In this, as in other matters, Laing’s questions of a generation ago remain questions for our time.

Mental Health at the Crossroads

Mental Health at the Crossroads
Author: Janet E. Williams
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2017-03-02
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1351918133

This book is a challenge to the enduring status and domination of bio-medical approaches in mental health services. Contributors from four continents argue that this domination, along with modernization and multidisciplinary work, will not improve people's lives unless social and psychological perspectives are appreciated and integrated. This implies new forms of relationships and social arrangements. Mental Health at the Crossroads: the Promise of the Psychosocial Approach is a timely analysis of the psychosocial approach as it resonates across the discipline divide, considering the past and future development. It is written from the perspectives of service users and carers, managers, practitioners, educators, researchers and policy makers, illustrated with case studies from Australia, Brazil, Italy, UK and the USA. This book presents an alternative approach to conventional thinking in mental health, providing a fascinating and valuable resource for those seeking new perspectives, grounded in theory with practice examples, in order to influence the current agenda and change practice.

Basaglia's International Legacy: From Asylum to Community

Basaglia's International Legacy: From Asylum to Community
Author: Tom Burns
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2020-05-28
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0192577778

Franco Basaglia (1924-1980) was an Italian psychiatrist and activist who proposed the dismantling of psychiatric hospitals and pioneered new ideas about mental health and its treatment. Basaglia was also one of the principal proponents of Italy's Law 180, which effectively closed down large mental hospitals in Italy. His ideas and his disciples have had a decisive influence in the move away from institutional care in many parts of the world, particularly in continental Europe and South America. However, Basaglia is strikingly absent from the literature in Germanic and Anglophone psychiatry. Most of the literature about Basaglia in the last 40 years has been published by his followers and supporters and has often been largely positive, with little exploration of differing responses or possible limitations of his model. Basaglia's International Legacy: From Asylum to Community provides an overview of current thinking and the international influence of Franco Basaglia. This resource draws on the combined knowledge of clinicians, policy makers, historians, and social scientists, including a handful of Basaglia's collaborators. It provides an in-depth understanding and critical analysis of the various applications of his thinking worldwide. Organised into three broad sections, chapters examine Basaglia's work and influence in Italy; in the 'Basaglian' countries of Europe and South America; and in those countries where his influence has either been rejected or significantly modified. The Editors bring together the contributions and draw out the important messages (both positive and negative) for current clinical practice and development within international mental health services.

The History of Mental Symptoms

The History of Mental Symptoms
Author: G. E. Berrios
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 588
Release: 1996-04-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9780521437363

An important and unique survey of the historical background to the descriptive categories of psychopathology.

Psychiatry and the Human Condition

Psychiatry and the Human Condition
Author: Roberta Passione
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 191
Release: 2022-10-31
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3031093046

This book is the result of extensive archival research conducted on the Collection “Silvano Arieti Papers” held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. It offers readers the first scientific biography of the renowned Italian-born psychiatrist Silvano Arieti, who in 1939 emigrated to the United States, where he gained fame and recognition for his work on schizophrenia. In 1975, the second edition of his book, Interpretation of Schizophrenia, received the National Book Award in Science. The book has been cast as a twofold journey: an exploration of the life of a psychiatrist and scientist and an overview of twentieth century psychiatry and its significant issues, debates, and transformations. Readers will find useful insights for a better understanding of psychiatry as a discipline capable of portraying the complexity of human nature.

Basaglia's International Legacy

Basaglia's International Legacy
Author: Tom Burns
Publisher:
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2020
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0198841019

Basaglia's International Legacy: From Asylum to Community provides an overview of current thinking and the international influence of Franco Basaglia. Examining his influence in Italy and beyond, this book finds lessons in Basaglia's work which can be applied to contemporary international mental health services.

Conscience and Critic

Conscience and Critic
Author: Keith Tudor
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2016-11-10
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1315460955

Conscience and Critic: The Selected Works of Keith Tudor brings together 35 years of Keith Tudor’s finest contributions to the field of mental health. Covering a wide range of subjects that encompass psychotherapy, social policy and positive mental health or wellbeing, Keith reflects on practice and theory from his wealth of experience in various fields of practice, including probation, counselling, field, hospital and psychiatric social work, psychotherapy, supervision, and education and training. Over the span of his professional career, Keith’s concerns and contributions have focused on the interface between psyche and society. This is reflected in his writings on the politics of disability, mental health reform, class-conscious therapeutic practice, the application and critique of theory, health and professional regulation and registration. Conscience and Critic will be of interest to psychotherapists and mental health practitioners, as well as students of psychotherapy.