Understanding Troubled Minds

by Bloch, Sidney; Singh, Bruce S.

• ISBN13: 9780522846423
• ISBN10: 0522846424
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-12-01
• Publisher: Melbourne Univ Pr

Summary

Most of us take our mental health for granted. But when confronted by mental illness in our family, our friends, or ourselves, even the most competent among us is likely to become bewildered.

Author Biography

Sidney Bloch is Associate Professor and Reader in Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and Senior Psychiatrist at St. Vincent's Hospital. He is the author of numerous books dealing with psychotherapy, ethics, and the family. Bruce S. Singh is Cato Professor and Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and Clinical Director of Psychiatry of the Western Health Care Network, Melbourne.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgements	xvi
1 The Story of Psychiatry	1	(10)
2 Making Sense of a Life	11	(13)
3 What Causes Mental Illness?	24	(14)
4 Defining Mental Illnesses	38	(8)
5 The Psychiatrist at Work	46	(18)
6 Coping with Stress	64	(13)
7 The Spectrum of Anxiety	77	(16)
8 The Highs and Lows of Mood	93	(20)
9 Mind Talking Through Body	113	(13)
10 Eating, Sex and Sleep	126	(18)
11 Disturbance of Personality	144	(14)
12 The Psychoses	158	(15)
13 Alcohol and Drug Abuse	173	(14)
14 Mental Illness and the Brain	187	(11)
15 Children and Adolescents	198	(20)
16 Women and Mental Health	218	(13)
17 The Elderly and Mental Health	231	(13)
18 Psychiatry and the Law	244	(9)
19 Suicide and Deliberate Self-harm	253	(13)
20 Drugs and Other Physical Treatments	266	(12)
21 The Talking Therapies	278	(19)
22 A Guide to Good Mental Health	297	(20)
A Selective Guide to Further Reading	317	(4)
Index	321