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Published Mar 2015
352 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
Psychiatry has come a long way since the days of chaining "lunatics" in cold cells and parading them as freakish marvels before a gaping public. But, as Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, reveals in his extraordinary and eye-opening book, the path to legitimacy for "the black sheep of medicine" has been anything but smooth.
In Shrinks, Dr. Lieberman traces the field from its birth as a mystic pseudo-science through its adolescence as a cult of "shrinks" to its late blooming maturity - beginning after World War II - as a science-driven profession that saves lives. With fascinating case studies and portraits of the luminaries of the field - from Sigmund Freud to Eric Kandel - Shrinks is a gripping and illuminating read, and an urgent call-to- arms to dispel the stigma of mental illnesses by treating them as diseases rather than unfortunate states of mind.
"Starred Review. Vastly edifying and vigorously written - a much-needed update on how far the psychiatric industry has come, both medically and from a public perception standpoint." - Kirkus
"A lively defense of psychiatry that extols brain science and pharmaceutical treatment." - Library Journal
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, is the Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Formerly the President of the American Psychiatric Association, in 2000 was elected to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine. He lives with his wife and two sons in New York City.
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