Mental Health Books

I knew nothing about Schizophrenia or the disaster well intended liberals and fiscal conservatives created when they released the mentally ill onto America's streets,before reading this most informative book.

I am a psychiatric social worker and have been in the field for years. I think anyone who works in behavioral health should read this book. It clearly explores the relationship between the "deinstitutionalization" of the 1950s and 1960s and the relationship as those in mental hospitals were set free to fend for themselves in the community. The relationship unfolkds as the author explains how the population decline in state mental hospitals has been off-set by the soaring number of mentally ill men and women who are wandering the streets homeless, or are locked away in jails and prisons with little to no treatment.

By now, 50 or so years on, it's obvious shutting down mental hospitals was not the solution -- rather, improving conditions and quality of life in the hospitals was what was needed. The author cites hundreds of specific cases in which institutionalized men and women are set free -- to become victims, or to victimize. The community mental health clinic concept works for a certain segment of the mentally ill population. But, as I have seen and experienced on an almost daily basis, there are far too many chronically mentally ill people who have no insight into their illness and the need to take medication consistently, and thus suffer in poverty, filth, and psychic ghettos in the inner cities of America.

The once-hospitalized men and women have achieved the "freedom" lawyers and psychiatrists a generation ago sought. Sadly, to quote from "Me and Bobby McGee" -- freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. Those of you who work with the men and women who live in run-down housing, eat out of trash cans, are a revolving door in emergency rooms and jail cells will know what I talking about. This book paints a grave picture of the state of public behavioral health's state of the union in the early part of the 21st Century. It's not an easy book to read, but perhaps it will inspire a few people to push for some changes, because the system's broken and it needs fixing -- bad!

This author is not kidding...he really tells it as it is, but with a light touch that may miss the mark. State legislators need to be slammed up side the head to get their attention and I fear he is a little too politically correct. As the father of a middle-aged bi-polar daughter, I was blindsided by the impact of her disease. She is one of the lucky ones who found a qualified psychiatrist and medications that are working to keep her off the streets, but barely. Unless you experience the family impact of mental illness most people just walk on by. The civil rights lawyers and courts who curtailed mandatory treatment are the real criminals in this crisis and the author is too easy on them. Mental illness still is a great social taboo in this culture of control and cure. When neither are possible our government seems paralized to respond. Unfortunately, I fear that it will take a lot more homeless people and mentally ill criminal behavior to get the needed attention and reforms. But, hey, never forget that a few highly dedicated people can change things. Meantime, you suffer and hope. Read this book and get involved.

After his recent effort on the criminal mind Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology (co-authored with Joseph T. McCann), Charles Patrick Ewing is at it again with "Insanity: Murder, Madness, and the Law." Ewing is a fantastic writer with an energetic and agile mind and I highly recommend his latest work.In Ewing's latest work, he uses 10 case studies in which the insanity defense was litigated.

The insanity defense has had a long and varied history during its development in the common law. Common to all crimes is the element of intent. A necessary component to intent is volition. And necessary to volition is mens rea. The Latin phrase Mens rea literally translates as "evil mind" but it has also been interpreted as a guilty mind, evil intent or criminal intent. The development of the mens rea concept can be traced back to medieval jurists: without criminal intent, there can be no moral blameworthiness, crime, or punishment.

Though evidence of mental illness was allowed as evidence to demonstrate that the accused was incapable of forming criminal intent, it was not until M'Naughton in the 19th Century that insanity was first recognized as an affirmative defense. The M'Naughten rule stated:
To establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proven that, at the time of the committing of the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defective reason, from disease of the mind, as to not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong.

Another test, the "irresistible impulse" test broadened the scope of the M'Naughton "right or wrong," test. The "irresistible impulse" test includes those who knew their actions were wrong, but who, as a result of a "disease of the mind" were unable to exercise control over their actions.

The American Law Institute's Model Penal Code test for insanity is found in Section 4.01, Mental Disease or Defect Excluding Responsibility:
(1) A person is not responsible for criminal conduct of at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to coform his conduct to the requirements of law.
(2) The terms "mental disease or defect" do not include an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial behavior.

The ALI test represents a combination of the M'Naughton test and the "irresistible impulse test:"
3. The draft accepts the view that any effort to exclude the nondeterrables from strictly penal sanctions must take into account of the impairment of volitional capacity no less than of impairment of cognition; and that this result should be achieved directly in formulation of the test, rather than left to mitigation in the application of the M'Naughton. It also accepts the criticism of the "irresistible impulse" formulation as inept in so far as it may be impliedly restricted to sudden, spontaneous acts as distinguished from insane propulsions that are accompanied by brooding or reflection.

Both the main formulation and alternative (a) deem the proper question on this branch of the inquiry to be whether the defendant is without capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of law...

Additionally, the M'Naughton test and the "irresistible impulse" test required complete impairment, i.e. "the actor must not know." The ALI test rejects complete cognitive impairment and, instead, favors a "substantial" impairment. "Substantial" is an ill-defined term and some states that employ the ALI test have dropped the word substantial.

Embedded in this nation's jurisprudence is the fundamental principle that one who lacks the requisite criminal state of mind may not be convicted or punished. Since this principle is fundamental, it would violate the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Fifth Amendment for Federal cases) to convict an individual who did not have the requisite criminal state of mind. With that said, however, the Supreme Court has repeatedly refused to endorse one particular test for insanity. See Leland v. Oregon, 343 U.S. 790. With that said, some states adhere to M'Naughton, some to the "irresistible impulse" test, some to the ALI formulation, New Hampshire follows the Durham rule and explicitly rejected by the ALI and three states, Utah, Montana, and Idaho have statutorily abolished insanity as an affirmative defense.

The three states that have abolished the insanity defense still allow the admission of evidence to demonstrate that the accused was incapable of forming the requisite criminal intent on the theory that, at all times, the prosecution bears the burden of proving all elements of the crime and to prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. If the accused creates reasonable doubt by introducing evidence to show that he was unable to form intent, then one element of the crime, namely intent, is not proven.

The question on whether the Constitution mandates a full-blown insanity defense or whether it merely mandates that one who cannot form the requisite criminal intent cannot be punished. The Supreme Court's decision in Leland not to mandate one constitutional test for insanity bears some analysis. If the Court refuses to formulate some test for insanity, it is something left to the Several States. However, the adoption of different tests by the states means that a criminal defendant pleading the insanity defense in one state may achieve a different result than the criminal defendant pleading the insanity defense in another state than the criminal defendant who cannot plead insanity as a affirmative defense in Utah, Idaho, or Montana. If the Court's ruling permits different results on insanity, then, one would intuit that the insanity defense is not mandated by the Constitution and instead, the test adopted by a state must ensure that a criminal defendant who cannot form the requisite criminal intent is not convicted.

Ewing's selection of cases demonstrate that the use of the insanity defense is rare in criminal trials and rarely successful when used. In one particular case, that of Eric Smith (the 13 year old boy who murdered a 4 year old boy), Ewing relishes the irony of the prosecutor's insistence on prosecuting Smith as an adult for murder rather (in which Smith received a sentence of 9 years to life and presently eligible for parole) rather than concede the Defense contention that he was insane (and thus subject to a likely lifetime confinement in a hospital).

A few of Ewing's biases come out in the text, including:
1) Adversarial science - Ewing eschews the scientific expert (psychological included) only testifies for one side because it betrays a lack of objectivity

2.) "Mumbo-jumbo" - Ewing also eschews expert testimony which is not easily consumed by the jury. After all, what is the point of expert testimony (the purpose of which is to AID the trier of fact) if the trier of fact (i.e. the jury) does not understand it. Ewing uses the Jack Ruby case as a great example.

3.) Scientific over (and under) reaching - Finally, Ewing has a a bias against the over (and under) reaching expert witness. Ewing thinks the under reaching expert is worse than a throw-away witness and demonstrates how the Andrea Yates trial serves as a cautionary tale in expert over reaching.

I purchased this book with some initial reservation as it is often the case that books dealing with forensic psychology require perseverance to read.

It was a relief to find that my money was well spent on this book as the writing style makes the subject matter not only fascinating but easy to read.

The insanity defense is rarely attempted and even more rarely successful. Even when someone is floridly psychotic with an unequivocal history of severe mental illness, proving that he or she did not know the difference between right and wrong is extremely difficult. One study found that the defense was used in less than 1% of cases, and was successful only about one-fourth of the time. Another public misconception is that successful use of the insanity defense allows people to "get off" for the crime. In reality, most insanity acquittees go to locked state hospitals, often for the rest of their lives.

In this book, Charles Patrick Ewing attempts to correct the many public and professional misperceptions through case studies of 10 high-profile insanity cases, including those of Jack Ruby, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, John Wayne Gacy, and Andrea Yates.

Each case is fascinating, and demonstrates the disconnect between public perceptions and the real world of law. In some cases, the defense is attempted as a last resort, when a killer is caught red-handed and has no other plausible explanation. In others, the defendant is crazy as a bedbug but still not found insane.

Whatever the factual circumstances, most insanity trials come down to a battle between competing experts. Ewing vividly portrays these battles, some involving luminaries in the fields of forensic psychiatry and psychology, bringing us lengthy excerpts from the actual trial transcripts of the expert testimony. Don't miss, for example, the epic WWF Smackdown-style confrontation between prominent forensic psychiatrists Park Dietz and Dorothy Otnow Lewis in the trial of Arthur Shawcross.

Tracing the cases from pretrial competency motions to postconviction appeals, Ewing demonstrates the unpredictable influences of state laws, attorney acumen, jury composition, and judicial opinion on real-world outcomes.

Several of these chapters could stand alone as excellent teaching tools for forensic psychologists and psychiatrists or criminal attorneys. One of these is the torturous case of Scott Panetti of Texas, who represented himself while floridly psychotic and was convicted and sentenced to death before undergoing several rounds of high-level appeals. I do wish Ewing had included more geographic breadth; eight of the ten cases are from New York and Texas. But that is a minor quibble with an outstanding volume.

Ewing is a master writer, having brought us the equally engrossing case study volume, Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology, as well as other forensic psychology texts on family violence, battered women, children who kill, and several others. I highly recommend this latest offering.

Nicely done! A good follow-up to his WISC-R book, this is an enjoyable, in-depth look at something most psychologists don't know enough about.

brilliant, incisive, surprisingly funny and readable. A must-hav

I read Kaufman's book in a graduate class on assessment and intelligence testing. I still refer to it whenever I have unusual test scores with a WISC-III. It explains in a comprehensive and clear manner how a competent psychologist should interpret the WISC-III. It is worth every penny.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the author's previous work "The Path of Alchemy", I was interested to see how this book would read. I set aside my initial feeling of concern at the bizarrely coloured Tree of Life on the cover to concentrate on the material within. Once I started reading I was not disappointed. Mark Stavish has a very easy to read style that expresses ideas simply and in manageable quantities, an ideal formula for introducing the reader to the Kabbalah and its use for energetic healing. This is an excellent primer not just for anyone wanting to do energy work, but for an initial approach to Kabbalah. Whilst I may have disagreed with the author on odd points, I would strongly recommend this book as a very good basic introduction to Kabbalah and its use in energetic healing, exactly what it say in the title, in fact!

Kabbalah for Health and Wellness is similar in many ways to The Kabbalistic Handbook for the Practicing Magician by Joseph Lisiewski. I say this because even a cursory reading of it shows that the two are philosophically similar. In what looks like his second book, Mark Stavish gives a take on Kabbalah that is simple, direct, and above all, practical, just as is Lisiewski's book. The material explores how to work with the basic ideas presented in the Sepher Yetzirah: the Cube of Space, the Tree of Life, fundamental associations, and basic Path Working. In addition, he rounds out his presentation with the Middle Pillar exercise, making it relevant to his system of thought and expereince. And all this to emphasize the essential necessity of being able to demonstrate the usefulness of these ideas in the material world. Like Lisiewski's book too, Stavish insists that too many works on Kabbalah are concerned with spiritual fantasies at the expense of real world benefits - making our lives healthier, happier, and more useful. He further advocates that healing physical and psychological illnesses is one of the most direct, concrete, and simple ways anyone can begin to prove to themselves and others the reality of magic. In other words, he gives ways in which the efficacy of magic can be demonstrated. Stavish's emphasis on 'subconscious synthesis' ("subjective synthesis" as Lisiewski calls it in his three books) and developing a personal attunement to the tradition one is working in rather than simply layering it on a mish-mash of ill conceived New Age clap-trap, is something everyone needs to hear and understand if they want to make real progress in their WORK.

My recommendation: get this books, study it carefully, and apply what it says. In fact, if you think of it, get Lisiewski's too. Both are intensely practical books that WORK. You won't be sorry you did.

Kabbalah for Health & Wellness

From the Foreward by Colleen Deatsman:
"Mark Stavish is a fine teacher and an excellent writer. He breathes new life into the dry pages of ancient wisdom and finds ways to frame the antiquated in such a way that it is instantly useful to practitioners in the twenty-first century."

This is an excellent book for those who want to pursue a healing way based solidly upon Western Kabbalistic methods. As Deatsman writes, Stavish takes otherwise dry, obscure archaic theories and writings and lifts them out of the realm of the obtuse.

The healing methods presented in this book are very down to earth and come with enough detailed explanations so that the would-be practitioner will know why s/he is to do a certain thing, or not. However, the explanations, thankfully, do not run into overkill, that would otherwise make one's eyes glaze over.

Kabbalah is not a simple subject. And somehow Stavish finds a way of making this body of complex material accessible to the average person. That's an effort which cannot be sneezed at, as anyone who has tried to tackle the material of the Zohar can attest. What's more, taking such raw Kabbalistic material and trying to find practical ways in which to apply it is rather difficult without a scholar/mage at one's elbow.

Consider this work as the next best thing to having a well seasoned adept at your side.

All of Mark Stavish's writings are imbued with a sense of humility, compassion, and service to his fellow man (and woman!). It is rare to see all of these traits combined with genuine scholarly aptitude and a clear, unobtuse writing style.

The book is great and the delivery of it was perfect. It arrived as described.

APRENDERAS PORQUE SOLO TE ATRAEN LOS HOMBRES QUE NO VALEN LA PENA Y PORQUE ESTAS DISPUESTA A SUFRIR TANTO POR EL. TENDRAS LAS HERRAMIENTAS PARA CORTAR CON ESA RELACION TAN DOLOROSA QUE NO TIENE FUTURO.

Recomiendo este libro a todas las mujeres, es tan interesante y me ayudo a conocerme bastante y comprender mi vida , valorarme y lo mas importante a vivir mejor.

The purpose of this book is to inform the reader about general aspects and procedures regarding how the legal system works and the role lawyers and mental health professionals play. In addition the second part of the book comprehensively reviews the history of hypnosis and how the courts have scrutinized hypnotically refreshed memories within the legal system. Finally, the book takes an up front approach to addressing the recent crisis of sexual abuse in the United States and profiles sexual types of abusers provides insight into abuse.

This book gave me a great understanding of how the legal process works and the different types of law. In addition, I have been facinated by hypnosis for years. This book gives the most comprehensive review of the history of hypnosis that I have ever seen. Not only that, but this book also reviews how the court system has viewed hypnotically refreshed memories and the legalities involved in that.

I would highly recommend this book to any reader!

This is a great book! It explains in an understandable manner what the law is and how it works. Not only that, but it provides great insight into the workings of the legal profession, i.e., what lawyers do and the role of mental health professionals.

Additionally, it has a great section regarding mental illness and and explanation of different mental illnesses and also common defense mechanisms that people have and use.

Finally, I brought up great points regarding the crisis of sexual abuse in society and broke it down in a way that helped me understand the issues involved in abuse.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning an overview of how the law works, what lawyers and mental health professionals do within the legal system, and the issues of sexual abuse in society.

The LifeBreath style of breathing is amazing. In addition to the breathing technique, tools for overcoming obstacles, releasing old anger and pain and living a healthier more balanced life are also included. I would highly recommend this book, a great read for anyone interested in improving their life and their health.

The life lessons in this book are a must for all. The act and art of breathing must not be taken for granted and with the practical applications revealed in The LifeBreath Book, everyone can breath big and thereby live big!

This is a book that you will enjoy to the very end. There are many helpful tools included, but the LifeBreath style of breathwork described is a phenomenal tool. Anyone who is looking for a refreshing look at conscious breathing needs this book to read and refer to many times over.

Not only are there some very good affirmations that a person can use on a daily basis, but there are actions that will help reinforce the positive affirmations. I highly recommend this book to any one who is starting on the path of self acceptance or even those who have traveled the path aways already.

This is a fantastic book that every woman should read, large or small. It helps you with your self-esteem so that you can focus on the more important things in life. You will learn or perhaps re-learn how you don't have a weight problem, society does. You shouldn't change your body to fit the culture, that's not healthy and takes a big chunk of your time; time you could focus on more important matters like your career, school, children, etc.

Reviewed by Barbara Altman Bruno, Ph.D. Dr. Cheri Erdman, author of Nothing to Lose: A Guide to Sane Living in a larger Body has written another very good book. While her first book was more narrative, Live Large! is a workbook. It is meant for women seeking a better life in their larger bodies, to interact with the bite-size bits of material on each page. Erdman subdivides the book in two ways: first, in sections for initiation into body-size acceptance, inspiration, determination, and living large. Within each of these sections, each page has a dominant theme which she calls "the big idea." Some of these big ideas include "my body, my business" (a catch-phrase she learned from her work with larger women), "body size is unrelated to the quality of a person's life," and "healthy bodies come in all sizes." Each big idea is "fleshed out" in an explanatory paragraph. Then Erdman offers an affirmation related to that particular big idea. Affirmations are a tool which I also recommend to my clients because they can enable people to change the self-critical voices in their heads into self-affirming ones. While these affirmations - positive sentences stated in the present and repeated to oneself - can seem like science fiction when one first tries them, they can actually establish a new truth in one's mind. Finally, she recommends a "size-wise" action, often accompanied by journal-writing, to reinforce the experience of the big idea. These actions are generally do-able pieces which together form a big picture of someone living a positive life in her own, present body. Erdman's doctoral research led her to the concept of a "spiral of size acceptance." That is, most people do not go directly from hating their bodies to accepting them. Their path tends to look like a spiral, where they advance and yet sometimes feel like they're back at an earlier place. Most of us can relate to feeling better about ourselves, only to have someone's nasty, lipophobic comment send us reeling. Erdman reminds us that such setbacks are only steps along the path. Because each person's path can be different, we can choose a "big idea" which fits where we are at that moment. We do not have to work through the book page after page. We can return to pages which relate to our current situation; we can meditate on a section or take a size-wise action. Her book offers support at every step. What I especially like, in addition to the thoughtful structure of Erdman's book, isits message that to live large is not solely about having a larger body. It is about expanding into our spirit, which is much larger than anything physical. It is about living our purpose. There is much wisdom in this small book, both in its construction and in the messages it imparts. I recommend it.

This book is the one to read if you want to understand the violence--both public and private--that shook Latin America in the last 15 to 20 years. Hollander goes behind cliches about "latin", "Argentinians" and other pat explanations for the Dirty War, the coup in Chile and other right-wing activity against both soldier and civilian. Hollander shows both the class and psychological underpinnings of this period, intertwining marxist theory with psychoanalytic insight. She tells the story through ten psychoanalysts who fought the military in their various countries, who had to either flee or go into hiding, but who all strove to understand their countries. The combination of the analytical and human stories is spellbinding.

Hollander has done a marvelous job of situating her subject in the context of modern Latin American history. Using this book as a supplemental text, teachers can enrich courses in political science, sociology, anthropology, Latin American studies and 20th century history. For certain courses in social psychology this book is essential. Students of the history and psychology of the Holocaust will want to read Hollander. High school teachers who have had "Facing History" training will find this book full of suggestive ideas and curriculum materials.

Not many US psychologists know a lot about psychology in Latin America, whether in terms of history or theory. Nancy Caro Hollander's book provides an interesting introduction to both through the use of historical memoir centering upon six prominent psychologists--many of them European emigres--situated in the Southern Cone region (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay). Her narrative examines how their classical psychoanalytic training, animated yet challenged by their Marxist political commitments, ultimately unfolded and became transformed in the crucible of the revolutionary (and counter-revolutionary) political environment of mid-century Latin America. These psychologists developed and courageously enacted a personally, professionally, and politically risky activist psychotherapeutic praxis which stands as an interesting counterpoint to traditional US approaches. This book will be an enlightening and thought-provoking read for those psychologists who are genuinely interested in cross-cultural perspectives on psychological theory and praxis, politically-engaged psychology, activist psychology, and/or history of psychology from a global perspective. The book's interdisciplinary approach, which combined history, political science, and psychology, was quite intellectually stimulating. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Al na het lezen van de inleiding wist ik het: dit is een topboek. Zorgvuldig, grondig, uitgebalanceerd en prikkelend om te lezen en vooral om over na te denken. En ik hou van nadenken.

The author demonstrates how, from its origins in English asylums run by "carers" to the world's first modern psychiatric facility in revoutionary France, the image of women and of mental illness ("madness") mutually informed each other. These images changed across the decades, and with them, both the prospects and limitations on women, and the understanding of emotional suffering that gave rise to varied diagnoses.

Though studded with Britishisms, this is a highly readable introduction to the subject of mental illness and especially the role of the "mind doctors" in both helping and hindering half the world's prospects for a sane and free life.

This book heralds a new and renewed enlightenment about women, the mind, literature, and history. Recently I purchased the American edition and can not speak highly enough for it. The writing is superb and the text opens so many windows and doors. It is not easy to put down as it sails forward. I highly recommend it to everyone and that must be a wide audience of public and scholar alike. The book is a treasure.