Psychiatry All books
Alain Ehrenberg
Tired of Yourself Depression and Society
Examining the changes that have occurred since the 19th century in both psychiatry and society at large, this book shows how the internal collapse that is depression is the ultimate symbol of our culture of powerlessness. The depressed person cannot rise above the demands imposed on him or that he imposes on himself. He has no recourse but fatigue, inhibition, and indecision. But what does it mean to learn to be oneself? Is our society merely creating huge numbers of hypochondriacs? Can we any longer draw a line between the small unhappinesses and frustrations of daily life, and pathological suffering? Alain Ehrenberg is a sociologist.
Antoine Alaméda
The 7 Domestic Sins
Based on clinical studies and his own long practice in the field, in this book Alameda shows how each family suffering from psychological problems can become its own best therapist, once it relearns to use the resources paralysed by history and modern culture. Far from being general, guilt-mongering, or infantilizing, Alameda's book concretely examines the seven situations that, today, are the most common reasons for seeking family therapy. Antoine Alameda is director at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic at the Hospital of Toulon-la-Seyne.
Françoise Salomon
Silent Child The Story of a Schizophrenic
This largely autobiographical book recounts the story of a family brutally shaken their sons violence and mental illnessthough nothing had previously seemed to distinguish him from other teenagers. It is a highly moving chronicle of the world of schizophrenia which remains little known by the general public. The mother of a schizophrenic child, Françoise Salomon is an active member of the French Union nationale des amis et des familles des malades mentaux.
John Cleese, Robin Skynner
Life and How to Survive It
In Life and How to Survive It, the authors have given us more than 400 pages of lively, tonic humour. Their subject is the joy of living and the conditions required to enjoy life to the full. Proceeding by ever-larger concentric circles, the authors successively discuss happy families (brilliant!), companies that allow their employees to fulfil themselves, and finally countries where life is pleasurable. This is British humour at its best, brilliantlyand hilariouslyillustrated. British comic actor John Cleese is famous for the cult television series Fawlty Towers, which he co-authored and starred in. Robin Skynner is a psychotherapist specialising in group therapies.
Jean Cottraux
Internal Enemies Obsessions and Compulsions
Why do some people become obsessed with cleanliness, fear of causing accidents, or the idea that they are guilty of some fault or imperfection? Where should the line be drawn between "normal" obsessions, from which everyone suffers to a greater or lesser degree, and pathological obsessions? When should measures be taken to treat those who suffer from obsessions? Why have obsessive-compulsive disorders become so common (2.5% of the population now suffer from them)? Jean Cottrauxs study of several clinical cases enables him to describe how obsessive-thought processes function. Doctor Jean Cottraux is a clinical psychiatrist and lecturer at the Université de Lyon I.
Pierre Deniker, Jean-Pierre Olié
Crazy, Me ? Psychiatry Today and Yesterday
An increasing number of mental patients are being treated outside the stereotypical confines of mental institutions. This trend is often financially motivated, since the cost of institutional care is high. But the psychological advantage to the patients is often contested. Should its demise be encouraged? Need mental institutions necessarily be places of repression and exclusion? What is the position of mental illness in our society--given contemporary therapeutic progress and advances in medication? Jean-Pierre Olié and Pierre Deniker are psychiatrists.
Édouard Zarifian
The Price of Well-being
Why is France one of the countries which has the highest rate of consumption of psychotropic drugs (tranquillisers, hypnotics, antidepressants, neuroleptics) ? Are the French more ill than other nationalities ? No, says Edouard Zarifian, it is rather that in this country, we offer medication for the least emotional trouble. It is thus a cry of warning that Professor Zarifian voices in this book, directly inspired by his celebrated report to the Ministry of Health which the public have not had access to up until now.
Marc Jeannerod
Of Mental Physiology A History of the Relationship Between Biology and Psychology
A relative newcomer to the world of science, psychology gives rise to a rivalry between two older siblings, philosophy and biology. This enduring conflict between materialism and spiritualism, which continues today in other forms, without adoubt was the driving force behind its progress. What we know today about the spirit is a result of this history. Biology and psychology have shaped each other in turn. This book represents a riveting study on how two centuries of spiritual quarrelling made possible the modern attempt to establish the inner workings of the mind. A professor of physiology at the Université Claude Bernard, Marc Jeannerod is also the director of an Inserm neurological research team in Lyon.
