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Madness on the Couch : Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis
by Dolnick, Edward
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine condition/Near Fine dust jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0684824973
- ISBN 13
- 9780684824970
- Seller
-
Henderson, Nevada, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998. Bright, clean, square, tight, unmarked copy. Sharp corners. No chips or tears. No owner's name or bookplate. No remainder mark. Not a book club edition. Not price clipped (25.00). Photo illustrated. Review copy (?) with promotional materials from publisher laid-in. A study of the failures of Freudian therapy, especially with respect to schizophrenia, autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. From the Dust Jacket: "Armed with only words and the best of intentions, they achieved he worst of outcomes... Clear, dramatic, and authoritative, Madness on the Couch uses the voices of therapists as well as those of patients and their loved ones to describe the controversial methods used to treat the mentally ill, and their heartbreaking consequences. We see the leading lights of psychotherapy at work, including tiny, grandmotherly Frieda Fromm-Reichmann; gawky Gregory Bateson, either a genius or a charlatan, depending on whom one asked; and birdlike R. D. Laing, a slender figure with dark, deep-set eyes and the charisma of a rock star." Prologue, Part I: Freud; Part II; The Heyday of Psychoanalysis; Part III: Schizophrenia; Part IV: Autism; Part V: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; Part VI: Conclusion. Chapter notes. Bibliography. Index. First Printing of the First Edition. Hardcover. Fine condition/Near Fine dust jacket. 8vo. 368pp. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.
Synopsis
In the golden age of "talk therapy," the 1950s and 1960s, psychotherapists saw no limit to what they could do. Believing they had already explained the origins of war, homosexuality, anti-Semitism, and a host of neurotic ailments, they set out to conquer one of mankind's oldest and fiercest foes, mental illness. In Madness on the Couch, veteran science writer Edward Dolnick tells the tragic story of that confrontation. It is a vivid, compelling tale that is told here for the first time. Dolnick focuses on three battles in an epic war: against schizophrenia, autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Schizophrenia, the most dreaded mental illness, strikes its young victims without warning and torments them with hallucinations and mocking voices. Autism claims its victims even younger, at age one or two, and locks them away, cut off from the rest of us by invisible walls. Obsessive-compulsive disorder strikes at any age and entraps its hapless victims in endless rituals. Inspired by their hero, Freud, but bolder even than he, psychoanalysts set out to vanquish those enemies. Armed with only words and the best of intentions, they achieved the worst of outcomes. The symptoms of disease were symbols, these therapists believed, and diseases could be interpreted, like dreams. The ranting of a schizophrenic on a street corner, the retreat of an autistic child from human contact, the endless hand-washing of an obsessive-compulsive were not simply acts but messages. And the message psychoanalysts decoded and delivered to countless families was that parents themselves -- through their subtle hostility -- had driven their children mad. That verdict was not overturned for more than a generation. Clear, dramatic, and authoritative, Madness on the Couch uses the voices of therapists as well as those of patients and their loved ones to describe the controversial methods used to treat the mentally ill, and their heartbreaking consequences. We see the leading lights of psychotherapy at work, including tiny, grandmotherly Frieda Fromm-Reichmann; gawky Gregory Bateson, either a genius or a charlatan, depending on whom one asked; and birdlike R. D. Laing, a slender figure with dark, deep-set eyes and the charisma of a rock star. We meet, too, scientists and family members who fought the reigning dogma of the day. Bernard Rimland, for example, set out to refute the claim that autism was caused by "refrigerator" parents whose coldness had turned their children into zombies. Rimland's only "credential" in his battle with the experts was the fact that his son was autistic. A gripping tale of hubris, arrogant pride, and terrible heartbreak, Madness on the Couch combines the immediacy of superb joumalism with the depth of scrupulous history. It shows us convincingly that in attempting to cure mental illness through talk therapy, psychoanalysis did infinitely more harm than good.
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Details
- Bookseller
- About Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 011607
- Title
- Madness on the Couch : Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis
- Author
- Dolnick, Edward
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine condition
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine dust jacket
- Edition
- First Printing of the First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0684824973
- ISBN 13
- 9780684824970
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1998
- Size
- 8vo. 368pp
- Bookseller catalogs
- Psychology / Psychiatry / Psychoanalysis;
Terms of Sale
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Please add 8.375% sales tax for any order sent to a Nevada address (unless you have provided an official resale or tax exemption certificate). All items are guaranteed as described. We take pride in our book descriptions. Every item is meticulously examined so that condition and edition are listed as accurately as possible. We strive to provide pertinent bibliographical details. In addition, our listings frequently include content summaries, details on provenance, and/or biographical notes on the author. Our descriptions are protected by copyright, and unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Violators will be prosecuted. We always take the time necessary to carefully package your order so that it arrives safely and securely. Shipping cost estimates are based on an average size book and are intended to cover only our actual expenses. If your order includes multiple volumes, oversize, heavy, or valuable items, we may contact you to request authorization for additional postage. RETURNS: If not as described, your order is returnable within 10 days of receipt. Prior notice is requested and appreciated. Returns must be securely packaged and arrive here safely. A full refund will be issued if the return is attributable to a mistake on our part; otherwise shipping costs are not refundable.
About the Seller
About Books
Biblio member since 2008
Henderson, Nevada
About About Books
About Books (Genny and Michael Winne, proprietors, formerly of Parsippany, New Jersey) has been selling rare and OP books since 1985. Besides book fairs and mail-order catalogues, long-time collectors and dealers will remember our lengthy For Sale ads in the Antiquarian Bookman and similar magazines. Our inventory of over 40,000 volumes is especially strong in the specialties listed, but contains fine books in a variety of other fields as well. Because most of our books are stored in protective boxes, rather than on shelves, they cannot be viewed as a whole. If you wish to visit us to examine specific titles, please provide 24 hours notice and we will make them available for your inspection. Phone calls to (702) 750-2722 are welcome, but please, only between the hours of 8am and 10pm (west coast time).
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