R Sommer1, J S Clifford, J C Norcross. 1. Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616-8686, USA. rosommer@ucdavis.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This article brings to the present earlier bibliographies of books written by former mental patients. These books provide an inside view of mental disorder that can be useful in teaching, public education, theory, and research, and they have played a catalyzing role in mental health reform and in theory development. METHOD: The authors list seven anthologies and 48 autobiographies of former patients published since 1980 and introduce a classification system intended to increase the research value of this important archive. RESULTS: Recent books of this genre show more individuals with a mood disorder and more therapists and more women as authors. CONCLUSIONS: The research potential of these books suggests the value of an electronic database for classifying and retrieving the information they contain.
OBJECTIVE: This article brings to the present earlier bibliographies of books written by former mental patients. These books provide an inside view of mental disorder that can be useful in teaching, public education, theory, and research, and they have played a catalyzing role in mental health reform and in theory development. METHOD: The authors list seven anthologies and 48 autobiographies of former patients published since 1980 and introduce a classification system intended to increase the research value of this important archive. RESULTS: Recent books of this genre show more individuals with a mood disorder and more therapists and more women as authors. CONCLUSIONS: The research potential of these books suggests the value of an electronic database for classifying and retrieving the information they contain.
Authors: Paolo Fusar-Poli; Andrés Estradé; Giovanni Stanghellini; Jemma Venables; Juliana Onwumere; Guilherme Messas; Lorenzo Gilardi; Barnaby Nelson; Vikram Patel; Ilaria Bonoldi; Massimiliano Aragona; Ana Cabrera; Joseba Rico; Arif Hoque; Jummy Otaiku; Nicholas Hunter; Melissa G Tamelini; Luca F Maschião; Mariana Cardoso Puchivailo; Valter L Piedade; Péter Kéri; Lily Kpodo; Charlene Sunkel; Jianan Bao; David Shiers; Elizabeth Kuipers; Celso Arango; Mario Maj Journal: World Psychiatry Date: 2022-06 Impact factor: 79.683