Transforming Madness: New Lives for People Living with Mental Illness

by Jay Neugeboren

In Imagining Robert, Jay Neugeboren told the sad, deeply personal, often harrowing story of one man and one family's struggle with chronic mental illness. Now, he presents an overview of the entire field: a clear-eyed, articulate, comprehensive survey of our mental health care system's shortcomings and of new, effective, proven approaches that make real differences in the lives of millions of Americans afflicted with severe mental illness. A book for general readers and professionals alike, Transforming Madness is at once a critique, a message of hope and recovery, and a call to action. Filled with dramatic stories, it shows us the many ways in which people who have suffered the long-term ravages of psychiatric disorders have reclaimed full and viable lives.

Genres: Psychology

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Roger Burk · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is not a psychologist or psychiatrist or scientist, but rather a professional writer with a brother who has been in and out of mental institutions for most of his life, and that has plainly driven his passion for his subject. He uses a novelistic approach to advocate for a new approach to treating severe mental illness that emphasizes kindness, empathy, stability, attention, and as much freedom as possible. For the many homeless who are seriously mentally ill, he advocates providing housing first, then as agreed with the patient therapy, meds, etc. Uninterrupted involvement by a consistent case worker is important. Psychotherapy combined with drugs works better than either alone. I'm not sure how well this can work with people who have persistent delusions or frequent bizarre and disruptive behavior, but it seems like it's worth a try, given the dreary alternative.

The writer has done a great deal of research. He describes many innovative halfway-house-like programs that have had great success in rehabilitating difficult cases. He introduces the reader to many individuals who have suffered hospitalization but gone on to marry and raise families, hold down high-responsibility jobs, and earn advanced degrees. Many themselves become therapists or other workers with the mentally ill, with great success. The writer reviews in some detail the history of care for the seriously mentally ill since the discovery in the 1950s that some chemicals could alleviate psychosis, and also the current (1999) state of the science behind mental illness.