The Insanity Offense How America S Failure To Treat The Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens

"Vital for all working in the mental health field . . . . Fascinating reading for anyone." —Choice E. Fuller Torrey, the author of the definitive guides to schizophrenia and manic depression, chronicles a disastrous swing in the balance of civil rights that has resulted in numerous violent episodes and left a vulnerable population of mentally ill people homeless and victimized. Interweaving in-depth accounts of landmark cases in California, Wisconsin, and North Carolina with a history of legislation and changes in the mental health care system, Torrey gives shape to the magnitude of our failure and outlines what needs to be done to reverse this ongoing—and accelerating—disaster. A new epilogue on the 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, brings this tragic story up to date.

Reveals proven solutions for bettering the lives of people with serious mental illness, their families, and their communities. Leading scientist and gifted storyteller Rachel A. Pruchno, PhD, was shocked to encounter misinformation, ignorance, and intolerance when she sought to help her daughter, newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Turning to the scientific literature, Dr. Pruchno eventually found solutions, but she realized many others would need help to understand the highly technical writing and conflicting findings. In Beyond Madness—part memoir, part history, and part empathetic guide—Dr. Pruchno draws on her decades as a mental health professional, her own family's experiences with mental illness, and extensive interviews with people with serious mental illness to discuss how individuals live with these illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression. The book • presents real-world vignettes that vividly describe what it is like to experience some of the most troubling symptoms of a severe mental illness • offers practical advice for how individuals, family members, and communities can help people with a serious mental illness • explains how people with mental illness can find competent health care providers, identify treatment regimens, overcome obstacles to treatment, cope with stigma, and make decisions • provides insight into programs, such as Crisis Intervention Training, that can help people undergoing mental health crisis avoid jail and get the treatment they need • takes aim at the popular concept of "rock bottom" and reveals why this is such a harmful and simplistic approach • advocates for evidence-based care • documents examples of communities that have embraced successful strategies for promoting recovery • shows that people with serious mental illnesses can live productive lives Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Beyond Madness is a call to action and a promise of hope for everyone who cares about and interacts with the millions of people who have serious mental illness. Family members, friends, teachers, police, primary care doctors, and clergy—people who recognize that something is wrong but don't know how to help—will find the book's practical advice invaluable.

Practical and evidence-based, this unique book is the first comprehensive text focused on person-centered approaches to people with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It reflects a range of views and findings regarding assessment, treatment, rehabilitation, self-help, policy-making, education and research. It is highly recommended for all healthcare professionals, students, researchers and educators involved in general practice, psychiatry, nursing, social work, clinical psychology and therapy. Healthcare service providers, and policy makers and shapers, will find the book's wide-ranging, multi-professional approach enlightening. 'Serious Mental Illness reflects a continued distancing from the outmoded and unsubstantiated belief that people with severe mental illnesses could not recover, and that they would respond positively only to goals and treatment plans chosen, designed and implemented by providers in order to prevent their further deterioration. Anyone with an interest in the concept of person-centered approaches will discover new ideas in this book. Indeed, anyone with an interest in person-centered approaches has to read this book. Not only is it the first such book on person-centered approaches, but it will serve as the gold standard in this topic area for years to come.' William A Anthony, in the Foreword

E. Fuller Torrey's book provides an insider's perspective on the birth of the federal mental health program.

The June 2012 issue features the Harvard Law Review's annual and extensive DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LAW section; this year's subject is Presidential Authority. The issue also includes an article by Nicholas Stephanopoulos, "Spatial Diversity," and a Book Review by Michael Dorf, "The Undead Constitution," which explores originalism and constitutional interpretation in light of recent books by David Strauss and Jack Balkin. The issue begins with a series of In Memoriam contributions celebrating Bernard Wolfman. In its Developments survey on executive authority, the authors analyze the subjects of: * The President’s Role in the Legislative Process * Presidential Power and the Office of Legal Counsel * Presidential Involvement in Defending Congressional Statutes * Executive Appointments In addition, student contributions on Recent Cases explore such topics as patentable subject matter, sentencing guidelines, economic spying, the death penalty and mental retardation, Guantánamo hearings and intelligence reports, and organ donor compensation. The issue includes Recent Publications and the Index for volume 125. The Harvard Law Review is offered in a digital edition, featuring active Table of Contents, linked footnotes and cross-references, legible tables, and proper ebook formatting. This current issue of the Review is June 2012, the eighth issue of academic year 2011-2012 (Volume 125).

This handbook is the definitive resource for understanding current mental health policy controversies, options, and implementation strategies. It offers a thorough review of major issues in mental health policy to inform the policy-making process, presenting the pros and cons of controversial, significant issues through close analyses of data. Some of the topics covered are the effectiveness of various biomedical and psychosocial interventions, the role of mental illness in violence, and the effectiveness of coercive strategies. The handbook presents cases for conditions in which specialized mental health services are needed and those in which it might be better to deliver mental health treatment in mainstream health and social services settings. It also examines the balance between federal, state, and local authority, and the financing models for delivery of efficient and effective mental health services. It is aimed for an audience of policy-makers, researchers, and informed citizens that can contribute to future policy deliberations.

Major developments in the field since the publication of Learning Forensic Assessment are integrated in this revised edition, including revised editions of the DSM-5, HCR-20 scale, and child custody guidelines. This textbook is designed for graduate students learning forensic assessment and psychologists coming to forensic practice later in their careers. It is organized around five broad areas: Professional and Practice Issues, Adult Forensic Assessment, Juvenile Forensic Assessment, Civil Forensic Assessment, and Communicating Your Findings. Each chapter begins with a strong teaching and learning foundation. The latter part of each chapter is assessment specific, covering available assessment measures and approaches to assessment. The authors go well beyond simple descriptions of assessment measures and provide a conceptual discussion of the evaluation process that helps the reader understand how assessment measures fit into the overall evaluation process. The evaluation component is geared toward assessing the important aspects of the construct as laid out in the early part of each chapter. Each chapter then concludes with a case example to illustrate the measures and techniques described.