Helms takes us through her unfiltered, uplifting story of chronic pain and severe depression to becoming a nationally recognized coalition builder and health care advocate as she battled to change a system that had failed millions. With stark honesty, she describes her personal struggle for appropriate care and the redemption she found challenging some of America’s most powerful, for-profit corporations on behalf of patient fairness and access to affordable, appropriate standards of quality care for all. “The power of one” an often over-used cliché, but the soul’s message of Unhinged; one woman joined by many to face down one dragon at a time; one voice joined by a chorus to alter forever, the conversation. Helms plots a roadmap for anyone who, even while questioning their own value or power, can move mountains unimagined by owning their voice, their sense of justice and their purpose. Armed with truth, directed purpose and willful respect, Helms proves that the ‘Lion’s den’ is but a myth, waiting to be challenged and exposed as such on behalf of all concerned.
In this stirring and beautifully written wake-up call, psychiatrist Daniel Carlat writes with bracing honesty about how psychiatry has so largely forsaken the practice of talk therapy for the seductive—and more lucrative—practice of simply prescribing drugs, with a host of deeply troubling consequences. Psychiatrist Daniel Carlat has noticed a pattern plaguing his profession. Psychiatrists have settled for treating symptoms rather than causes, embracing the apparent medical rigor of DSM diagnoses and prescription in place of learning the more challenging craft of therapeutic counseling, gaining only limited understanding of their patients’ lives. Talk therapy takes time, whereas the fifteen-minute "med check" allows for more patients and more insurance company reimbursement. Yet, DSM diagnoses, he shows, are premised on a good deal less science than we would think. Writing from an insider’s perspective, with refreshing forthrightness about his own daily struggles as a practitioner, Dr. Carlat shares a wealth of stories from his own practice and those of others that demonstrate the glaring shortcomings of the standard fifteen-minute patient visit. He also reveals the dangers of rampant diagnoses of bipolar disorder, ADHD, and other "popular" psychiatric disorders, and exposes the risks of the cocktails of medications so many patients are put on. Especially disturbing are the terrible consequences of overprescription of drugs to children of ever younger ages. Taking us on a tour of the world of pharmaceutical marketing, he also reveals the inner workings of collusion between psychiatrists and drug companies. Concluding with a road map for exactly how the profession should be reformed, Unhinged is vital reading for all those in treatment or considering it, as well as a stirring call to action for the large community of psychiatrists themselves. As physicians and drug companies continue to work together in disquieting and harmful ways, and as diagnoses—and misdiagnoses—of mental disorders skyrocket, it’s essential that Dr. Carlat’s bold call for reform is heeded.
Despite all her best efforts to break the cycle of catastrophic, destructive patterns of mental illness, Anna Berry found herself at the end of her rope----unemployed, penniless, homeless, and in the throes of a psychotic episode that threatened to destroy her life. Alone and unwell, she manages to find her grip on life, seeks the help she needs, and embarks on a life and career that illustrate that mental illness does not have to be ruinous. Unhinged: A Memoir of Enduring, Surviving, and Overcoming Family Mental Illness is a powerful memoir that chronicles Berry’s life as both a casualty and survivor of family mental illness. From her point of rock-bottom to her own recovery, as well as her efforts to help her still-afflicted mother and brother find hope and healing, we see how she struggles to recognize her own illness while coping with the fallout from her family’s other victims. In telling her story, Berry uncovers the difficulties inherent in not only growing up with mental illness among family members, but also the frustrations of not being able to recognize or handle the trajectory of her own illness. Yet, after successfully finding methods of treating her symptoms, Berry goes on to become a successful journalist and author, who now helps educate the public about mental health through her writing, while also serving as her mother’s court-appointed legal guardian. This story shows the devastating impact of mental illness on whole families, but offers readers a message of hope and healing. Berry’s story is sure to resonate with the many people who deal with the mental illness of family members, and their own struggles to cope with their own diagnoses.
Writing in the tradition of Karl Llewellyn’s classic The Bramble Bush, Paul Kahn speaks in this book simultaneously to students and scholars. Drawing on thirty years of teaching experience, Kahn introduces students to the deep, narrative structure of the judicial opinion. Learning to read the opinion, the student learns the nature of legal argument. Thus Kahn’s exposition of the opinion simultaneously offers a theory of legal meaning that will be of great interest to scholars of law, humanities, and the social sciences. At the center of Kahn’s approach are ideas of narrative, persuasion, and self-government. His sweeping account of interpretation in law offers innovative views of the nature of authorship, the development and decline of doctrine, and the construction of facts.
When you experience a medical emergency, you expect to be treated by a licensed physician with expertise in your condition. What happens when you look up from your hospital gurney to find that the doctor has been replaced by a non-physician practitioner with just a small fraction of the training and experience? From the co-author of Patients at Risk: The Rise of the Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant in Healthcare, the first book to warn of the systematic replacement of physicians, comes Imposter Doctors, an even more frightening exposé of patient endangerment at the hands of for-profit corporate entities and healthcare conglomerates. In the two years since Patients at Risk debuted, the employment of non-physician practitioners has continued to skyrocket. While advocates insist that nurse practitioners and physician assistants are ‘just as good’ as physicians, they are wrong. Despite over fifty years of scientific analysis, there is no conclusive evidence that non-physicians can provide safe and effective medical care without physician oversight. In fact, recent studies have shown the opposite: that the replacement of physicians puts patients at risk. The only cure for today’s healthcare crisis is for patients to become informed about who is providing their care. We must all know the difference in clinician education and training, and demand answers from those who would deprive us of physician-led care. REVIEWS and WORDS OF PRAISE This book is well-written, richly researched, and scientifically based. Imposter Doctors explains how scope expansion has been facilitated by the corporatization of American medicine, and exposes the fallacy of NP/PA and physician equivalency. It is a must-read for anyone concerned about our nation’s healthcare system. --Susan Rudd Bailey, MD, Past President American Medical Association Another frank and hard-hitting discussion from the author of Patients at Risk. While some will likely dismiss this book as aiming to protect the status quo in healthcare, I sincerely hope it creates important conversations about training, qualifications transparency, and public safety. --L Allen Dobson Jr, MD, FAAFP, Editor-in-Chief Medical Economics This follow-up book to Patients at Risk articulates the desperate need for reform to the healthcare system to re-insert physicians as the ultimate decision maker for the sake of patient care. After reading this book, one must ask "will a physician be available to care for me and my family when the need arises?" --Linda Lambert, FAAMSE
Dr. Morehead argues that it is time for a full-throated defense of mental health treatment, and that it falls to everyone, from medical and mental health professionals to the general public, to advocate on its behalf. He cogently lays out the science behind mental illness and mental health care, candidly discussing both what is known and what re
A New York Times Bestseller A Wall Street Journal Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book of 2020 A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year A New Statesman Book to Read From economist Anne Case and Nobel Prize winner Angus Deaton, a groundbreaking account of how the flaws in capitalism are fatal for America's working class Deaths of despair from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism are rising dramatically in the United States, claiming hundreds of thousands of American lives. Anne Case and Angus Deaton explain the overwhelming surge in these deaths and shed light on the social and economic forces that are making life harder for the working class. As the college educated become healthier and wealthier, adults without a degree are literally dying from pain and despair. Case and Deaton tie the crisis to the weakening position of labor, the growing power of corporations, and a rapacious health-care sector that redistributes working-class wages into the pockets of the wealthy. This critically important book paints a troubling portrait of the American dream in decline, and provides solutions that can rein in capitalism's excesses and make it work for everyone.
Turtles All the Way Down meets Love and Luck in this “lively” (Publishers Weekly), romantic road trip story about a teen girl’s last chance to have an epic summer with her best friend before everything changes. Florie’s OCD and her mother’s worrying have kept her from a lot of things, like having an after-school job and getting her driver’s license. And now that she’s graduated high school, while her best friend Kacey is headed off to Portland in the fall, Florie’s taking a parent-sanctioned gap year off before starting college. When the decision was made, Florie was on board, but now she can’t ignore the growing itch to become the person she wants to be and venture outside the quaint, boring Washington town she grew up in. Winning tickets to see her favorite true crime podcast’s live show in California gives her the opportunity to do just that, if only for a few days. So—unbeknownst to their parents—Kacey and Florie set off on a road trip to San Francisco. The only downside in Florie’s opinion? Sam, Kacey’s older brother and Florie’s forever crush, is their ride. The Samson Hodge, who Florie hasn’t seen since winter break, and who she’d prefer to never see again, if possible. But Florie is willing to put up with Sam if it means one last adventure with her best friend. Making it to San Francisco and back to Washington without their parents catching on isn’t a given, but one thing is for sure: this trip will change everything.
When Luke O’Neil isn’t angry, he’s asleep. When he’s awake, he gives vent to some of the most heartfelt, political and anger-fueled prose to power its way to the public sphere since Hunter S. Thompson smashed a typewriter’s keys. Welcome to Hell World is an unexpurgated selection of Luke O’Neil’s finest rants, near-poetic rhapsodies, and investigatory journalism. Racism, sexism, immigration, unemployment, Marcus Aurelius, opioid addiction, Iraq: all are processed through the O’Neil grinder. He details failings in his own life and in those he observes around him: and the result is a book that is at once intensely confessional and an energetic, unforgettable condemnation of American mores. Welcome to Hell World is, in the author’s words, a “fever dream nightmare of reporting and personal essays from one of the lowest periods in our country in recent memory.” It is also a burning example of some of the best writing you’re likely to read anywhere.
This book examines the disruptive nature of Trump news – both the news his administration makes and the coverage of it – related to dominant paradigms and ideologies of U.S. journalism. By relying on conceptualizations of media memory and "othering" through news coverage that enhances socio-conservative positions on issues such as immigration, the book positions this moment in a time of contestation. Contributors ranging from scholars, professionals, and media critics operate in unison to analyze today’s interconnected challenges to traditional practices within media spheres posed by Trump news. The outcomes should resonate with citizens who rely on journalism for civic engagement and who are active in social change. Chapters 6, 7 and 11 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license here: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9781315142326/trump-presidency-journalism-democracy-robert-gutsche?context=ubx&refId=8cc35100-2b4d-4a73-bbff-0ab9186212de
