Breaking Through Schizophrenia

Breaking through Schizophrenia builds on the ideas of Jacques Lacan who argued that schizophrenia is a deficient relationship to language, in particular the difficulty to master the metaphoric dimension of language, which children acquire by the Oedipal restructuring of the psyche. This book is thus a countercultural move to present a less damaging view and a more efficient treatment method for schizophrenic persons. Through a collection of published and unpublished articles, Ver Eecke traces the path of Lacanian thought. He discusses the importance of language for the development of human beings and examines the effectiveness of talk therapy through case studies with schizophrenic persons.

This chilling, inspiring journey through the mysterious tunnel of schizophrenia tells the story of a father guiding his son from despair to hope. In the tradition of "Is There No Place on Earth for Me?" and "The Eden Express", this compelling and enlightening book offers hope for the one percent of the world's population affected by the disease.

OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB PICK #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER The heartrending story of a mid-century American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand--even cure--the disease. Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the dream. After World War II, Don's work with the US Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years there was an established script for a family like the Galvins--aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony--and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys were diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen in one family? What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institutes of Mental Health. Their shocking story also offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy and the premise of the schizophrenogenic mother, to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amidst profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. Unknown to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment and even the possibility of the eradication of the disease for future generations. With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love and hope.

"With an introduction by Sen. Michael Kirby, Chair, Mental Health Commission of Canada"--Cover.

Those developing effective treatment and prevention programs for schizophrenia encounter many barriers and it is clear that neither health care professionals, nor the patients they work with, have an easy path. This volume identifies and discusses some of those barriers, ranging from therapeutic and economic issues, to the impact of ignorance and prejudice on persons with schizophrenia. Whilst providing up-to-date information on schizophrenia, the editors aim to convey the message that there is a need for mutual recognition and respect between patients and service providers which in turn will contribute to the implementation of successful treatment strategies. Written by an impressive array of authors and presenting a number of diverse and, at times, controversial topics, this book will be of value to all those working in the fields of medicine, nursing, psychology, social work and the basic sciences.

Psychiatry maintains the voices schizophrenics hear are meaningless auditory hallucinations caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Actual clinical investigation into the matter reveals this to be a false claim. Dr. Wilson Van Dusen, a clinical psychologist and author of "The Presence of Spirits in Madness" began holding coherent conversations with the voices of his schizophrenic patients decades ago. He discovered they precisely matched what Christian Mystic Emanuel Swedenborg described as evil spirits. Following up with scores of investigative interviews with his own schizophrenic patients, Jerry Marzinsky, a psychiatric evaluator, verified Van Dusen's astonishing conclusion: the voices are real. They are conscious, parasitic entities.

"A compelling act of connection, leavened with humour, clear-eyed yet packed with hope." —Ann-Marie MacDonald A rare work of narrative non-fiction that illuminates a world most of us try not to see: the daily lives of the severely mentally ill, who are medicated, marginalized, locked away and shunned. Susan Doherty's groundbreaking book brings us a population of lost souls, ill-served by society, feared, shunted from locked wards to rooming houses to the streets to jail and back again. For the past 10 years, many who have cycled in and out of the locked wards of the Douglas Institute in Montreal found a friend in Susan, who volunteers on the wards and then accompanies her friends out into the world. With their full cooperation, she brings us intimate stories that challenge our views of people with mental illness. Through "Caroline Evans," a woman in her early sixties whom Susan has known since she was a bright, sunny school girl, we experience living with schizophrenia, such as when Caroline was convinced she could save her roommate from the devil by pouring boiling water into her ear... She has been through it all, including having to navigate an indifferent justice system that is incapable of serving the severely ill. Susan interleaves Caroline's story with vignettes about her other friends—stories that reveal their hopes, circumstances, personalities, humanity. Susan found that if she can hang in through the first 10-15 minutes of every coffee date with someone in the grip of psychosis, true communication results. Their "madness" is not otherworldly: instead it tells us something about how they're surviving their lives and what they've been through. The Ghost Garden carries a cargo of compassion and empathy that motivates us to re-examine our understanding of justice, society and humanity.

The story of a father's relationship with his daughter and her struggles with mental illness.