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Lately, it seems that not a day passes without the media
proclaiming yet another sensational breakthrough in the search for the
physical origins of mental illness. But beyond all the fanfare and media
hype, is there a single shred of hard, empirical evidence to substantiate
the existence of "a gene for alcoholism," or "the brain chemistry behind
schizophrenia"? More to the point, in fact, is it scientifically sound to
limit the search for the roots of mental illness to processes occurring
within the body, while dismissing socioeconomic, familial, and
experiential influences as, at best, mere "triggering mechanisms"? And, if
not, what harm is being done by psychiatry's current obsession with these
somatic chimeras?
This groundbreaking book offers answers to those
questions and more. While Dr. Ross and Professor Pam clearly assert from
the outset that biological psychiatry "is dominated by a reductionist
ideology which distorts and misrepresents much of its research," this is
by no means a raw polemic voiced by an overzealous opposition. Instead, it
is a reasoned discourse based on a clear-sighted and methodical
examination of the professional literature.
Contributors to this
volume include distinguished researchers and clinicians from the fields of
psychiatry, psychology, sociology, and psychopharmacology. Their common
purpose in coming together was to alert the mental health community to the
ideological blind spots and conceptual errors in the basic logic and
methodology of biological psychiatry, to demonstrate the need for a more
scientifically based psychiatric practice, and to suggest alternative
approaches to understanding and treating mental illness. Readers will find
their arguments stimulating, provocative, and highly persuasive.
Among the cutting-edge issues they explore are: the historical
origins of biological psychiatry; genetics and mental illness; the current
state of psychiatric training; psychopharmacology and drug therapy; the
public health, legal, and ethical implications of biological psychiatry;
and the funding, power, and politics of research.
This book is
essential reading for all mental health professionals. It also has many
important things to say to health care administrators, political analysts,
and public policy-makers.
Of related interest . . . .
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