Long before the age of reliable psychodiagnosis, a primitive vocabulary sprang up to address odd and unconventional people within society. The history of psychiatry concerns efforts to identify, diagnose, and contain or treat these 'wild', 'mad' or 'insane' people.
Starting with the Greeks 2,500 years ago, this book is organized chronologically and by country up to the present day. For each century and era, Professor Stone not only points out major trends and movements, but also describes the views and publications of influential individuals on the treatment of the mentally ill. The history of psychiatry in the twentieth century is arranged by decade and major fields, including diagnosis and epidemiology, psychoanalysis, personality disorders, biological psychiatry, child psychiatry, forensics and philosophy as it relates to the mind.
Michael Stone begins with a look at the role of religion in healing the mind and ends with some tentative predications about the practice of psychiatry in the twenty-first century.
Written with panache and verve, erudition and humanity, 'Healing the MInd' is a compelling new narrative history of psychiatry.
