From the Ashes of Experience: Reflections of Madness, Survival and Growth / Edition 1

by Phil Barker, Peter Campbell, Ben Davidson

Overview

It could be argued that a more sensitive appreciation of the total reality of the -madness experience?, of the interior perceptions, feelings and thoughts, and the exterior reactions based on them, is the single most important development that could improve the quality of life of those diagnosed mentally ill. This book aims to offer just that, presenting a number of personal experiences and providing an alternative to the received wisdom that mental illness is an affliction, an inevitably demoralising experience, which all patients would avoid if they could.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781861561206
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	07/09/1999
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	7.87(w) x 9.84(h) x 0.59(d)

About the Author

Phil Barker is the author of From the Ashes of Experience: Reflections of Madness, Survival and Growth, published by Wiley. Peter Campbell is the author of From the Ashes of Experience: Reflections of Madness, Survival and Growth, published by Wiley.

Table of Contents

Part 1.

Narratives on The Experience of "madness" and The Receipt of psychiatric Services, Madness and Reality, Sally Clay.

The Other World, Jan holloway, Fire and Ice, Cathy Conroy, The Flight of The Phoenix, Ed Manos.

Avalon, Liz Davies.

A Most Precious Thread, Simon Champ.

Hope, Humanity and voice in Recovery From Psychiatric Disability, Dan Fisher.

My Three Psychiatric careers, Rachel Perkin.

Que Sera Sera, Rose Snow.

The Medical Model and Harm, Judi Chamberlain.

Part 2.

Conclusion.

Editors Review of The Narratives and a summary of Their Implications for Psychiatric and Psychological Theory-building and The Education of The Major Professional Disciplines in Mental health.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Eileen Trigoboff, RN, CS, DNS (Buffalo Psychiatric Center)
Description: The editors take readers on a journey of what mental illness is like before, during, and after involvement with a flawed, though often well meaning, system. There are ten stories that span the globe along with viewpoints of what can happen to a person in the system.
Purpose: The editors intend to offer a spiritual and human perspective on the "madness experience" and the process of survival and subsequent growth. This attitude is high minded and may even exceed the grasp of some, but the objectives are met.
Audience: The audience is assuredly psychiatric nurses and mental health professionals. There is a great deal in this book that could be gleaned and would be helpful in patient and family groups and meetings. The contributors are a wide variety of well credentialed professionals, recipients of mental health services, and accomplished authors.
Features: The depth of experience of the contributors is notable. They cover three continents from inside (mental illness patients) to outside (the professional's experience). Material is presented in a poetic prose that stimulates philosophical thinking of the conditions of the human mind. There is a spiritual tone that shows reverence for the whole person who has mental illness.
Assessment: With this book, the editors offer a distinctive view of the experience of mental illness.

Doody's Review Service

3 Stars from Doody

The editors take readers on a journey of what mental illness is like before, during, and after involvement with a flawed, though often well meaning, system. There are ten stories that span the globe along with viewpoints of what can happen to a person in the system. The editors intend to offer a spiritual and human perspective on the "madness experience" and the process of survival and subsequent growth. This attitude is high minded and may even exceed the grasp of some, but the objectives are met. The audience is assuredly psychiatric nurses and mental health professionals. There is a great deal in this book that could be gleaned and would be helpful in patient and family groups and meetings. The contributors are a wide variety of well credentialed professionals, recipients of mental health services, and accomplished authors. The depth of experience of the contributors is notable. They cover three continents from inside (mental illness patients) to outside (the professional's experience). Material is presented in a poetic prose that stimulates philosophical thinking of the conditions of the human mind. There is a spiritual tone that shows reverence for the whole person who has mental illness. With this book, the editors offer a distinctive view of the experience of mental illness.

Eileen Trigoboff