Creating mental illness / Allan V. Horwitz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Horwitz, Allan V., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Psychiatry--Philosophy.

Psychiatry.

Psychiatry--History--20th century.

Deviant behavior--Labeling theory.

Deviant behavior.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (302 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2002.

Summary:

In this surprising book, Allan V. Horwitz argues that our current conceptions of mental illness as a disease fit only a small number of serious psychological conditions and that most conditions currently regarded as mental illness are cultural constructions, normal reactions to stressful social circumstances, or simply forms of deviant behavior. "Thought-provoking and important. . .Drawing on and consolidating the ideas of a range of authors, Horwitz challenges the existing use of the term mental illness and the psychiatric ideas and practices on which this usage is based. . . . Horwitz enters this controversial territory with confidence, conviction, and clarity."—Joan Busfield, American Journal of Sociology "Horwitz properly identifies the financial incentives that urge therapists and drug companies to proliferate psychiatric diagnostic categories. He correctly identifies the stranglehold that psychiatric diagnosis has on research funding in mental health. Above all, he provides a sorely needed counterpoint to the most strident advocates of disease-model psychiatry."—Mark Sullivan, Journal of the American Medical Association "Horwitz makes at least two major contributions to our understanding of mental disorders. First, he eloquently draws on evidence from the biological and social sciences to create a balanced, integrative approach to the study of mental disorders. Second, in accomplishing the first contribution, he provides a fascinating history of the study and treatment of mental disorders. . . from early asylum work to the rise of modern biological psychiatry."—Debra Umberson, Quarterly Review of Biology

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Introduction. The Proliferation of Mental Illnesses

Chapter One. A Concept of Mental Disorder

Chapter Two. The Expansion of Mental Illnesses in Dynamic Psychiatry

Chapter Three. The Emergence of Diagnostic Psychiatry

Chapter Four. The Extension of Mental Illnesses into the Community

Chapter Five. The Structuring of Mental Disorders

Chapter Six. The Biological Foundations of Diagnostic Psychiatry

Chapter Seven. Social Causes of Distress

Chapter Eight. Diagnostic Psychiatry and Therapy

Conclusion. Mental Illnesses as Social Constructions

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780226765891

022676589X

OCLC:

1191863781