
Stranger Than Fiction
When Our Minds Betray Us
Roxenne Smith(Co-Author)
American Psychiatric Association Publishing
Published on 2. March 1998
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-88048-930-0 (ISBN)
Description
Stranger Than Fiction: When Our Minds Betray Us is a
spellbinding invitation into the world of the human mind that will change
our perceptions of mental illness forever. Despite the growing body of
scientific discoveries into the nature of the human mind, the stigma
attached to mental illness remains deeply entrenched in the general public's
consciousness, the product of inaccurate information and centuries of
mystery.
In a simple conversational style, two distinguished
clinicians, Drs. Marc and Jacqueline Feldman, discuss the complexities of
mental disorders and their treatment. Using the metaphor of the lie of the
mind, a disorder in which a person's thinking becomes unintentionally
distorted, the authors approach mental illness from the perspective that
these disorders are merely extreme variations of universally shared
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Stranger Than Fiction removes the
artificial division separating the mentally ill from the general public and
demystifies symptoms that often seem bizarre.
On this journey through
the human psyche, the Feldmans use vivid, enlightening, and often poignant
cases from their own professional experience that dramatically illustrate
how psychiatrists help patients liberate themselves from the mental
conditions that imprison them. The reader is invited into therapy sessions
and hospital rooms and receives an insider's view of the difficulties that
each therapist confronts when treating disturbed patients. The authors show
how clinical decisions often rely more on educated hunches than medical
certainties and reveal that the practice of psychiatry is as much an art as
it is a science.
After finishing this unforgettable book, readers will
better understand the true nature of mental illness and witness the joy that
even the smallest triumph produces in patients and caregivers alike.
spellbinding invitation into the world of the human mind that will change
our perceptions of mental illness forever. Despite the growing body of
scientific discoveries into the nature of the human mind, the stigma
attached to mental illness remains deeply entrenched in the general public's
consciousness, the product of inaccurate information and centuries of
mystery.
In a simple conversational style, two distinguished
clinicians, Drs. Marc and Jacqueline Feldman, discuss the complexities of
mental disorders and their treatment. Using the metaphor of the lie of the
mind, a disorder in which a person's thinking becomes unintentionally
distorted, the authors approach mental illness from the perspective that
these disorders are merely extreme variations of universally shared
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Stranger Than Fiction removes the
artificial division separating the mentally ill from the general public and
demystifies symptoms that often seem bizarre.
On this journey through
the human psyche, the Feldmans use vivid, enlightening, and often poignant
cases from their own professional experience that dramatically illustrate
how psychiatrists help patients liberate themselves from the mental
conditions that imprison them. The reader is invited into therapy sessions
and hospital rooms and receives an insider's view of the difficulties that
each therapist confronts when treating disturbed patients. The authors show
how clinical decisions often rely more on educated hunches than medical
certainties and reveal that the practice of psychiatry is as much an art as
it is a science.
After finishing this unforgettable book, readers will
better understand the true nature of mental illness and witness the joy that
even the smallest triumph produces in patients and caregivers alike.
Reviews / Votes
Stranger Than Fiction will be useful to people whowant to learn more about mental illness, especially in its more dramatic
forms. The book will provide perspective as well as information to family
members, friends, and other acquainted with people who have a mental
illness, and patients themselves may find it serviceable. * Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic * Stranger Than Fiction is a well-written and
researched presentation of a variety of complex and psychopathologies, both
individual and group. With excellent case material, buttressed by an easy
and understandable flow that could be a source of intriguing and interesting
reading to laypersons and professionals, it is packed with keen
observations. It lends itself nicely to reading in segments, if necessary.
Definitions, theories, medications, and references are all current and
represent reasonably available resources. Brief tribute also is due the
American Psychiatric Press, publisher in recent years of many readable
volumes of increasing content quality and pleasing design. Stranger Then
Fiction is commendable in every regard. * JAMA * The Feldmans offer a masterful review of the false memory
syndrome, but the chapter does not stop there. They continue with sections
on facilitated communication, satanic ritual abuse, and John Mack's alien
abductions-topics that belong together. . . . Because Stranger Than
Fiction is written for the general public, people will learn about
the false memory syndrome who might not read a whole book on the topic. I
highly recommend it. . . . The general public will greatly enjoy this book,
especially the many fascinating case examples. * False Memory Syndrome Newsletter *
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
VA
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
With printed dust jacket
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 237 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
635 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-88048-930-0 (9780880489300)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marc D. Feldman, M.D., is Vice Chair for Clinical
Services in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He is also Medical Director of
the UAB Center for Psychiatric Medicine and is a recipient of an Exemplary
Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill.
Jacqueline M. Feldman, M.D., Director of the Division
of Public Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is also
Executive Director of the UAB Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center
and Medical Director of the UAB Community Psychiatry Program. She has
received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award of the National Alliance for the
Mentally Ill.
Services in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He is also Medical Director of
the UAB Center for Psychiatric Medicine and is a recipient of an Exemplary
Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally
Ill.
Jacqueline M. Feldman, M.D., Director of the Division
of Public Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She is also
Executive Director of the UAB Comprehensive Community Mental Health Center
and Medical Director of the UAB Community Psychiatry Program. She has
received the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award of the National Alliance for the
Mentally Ill.
Author
Clinical Professor of PsychiatryUniversity of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
Center for Psychiatric Medicine
Co-Author
Content
Introduction: what is a lie of the mind? Phobias: fear
itself. Somatoform disorders: what does my body have to do with it?
Dissociative disorders: who am I today? False memory syndrome: accurate
recollections or implanted histories? Delusions: Miss Annie's bucket and
other unrealities. Hallucinations: seeing is believing. Mass hysteria: witch
hunts and social contagion. Final thoughts: Treatment for lies of the mind:
learning from the past, catapulting into the future. References and
suggested readings. Index.
itself. Somatoform disorders: what does my body have to do with it?
Dissociative disorders: who am I today? False memory syndrome: accurate
recollections or implanted histories? Delusions: Miss Annie's bucket and
other unrealities. Hallucinations: seeing is believing. Mass hysteria: witch
hunts and social contagion. Final thoughts: Treatment for lies of the mind:
learning from the past, catapulting into the future. References and
suggested readings. Index.