Although it has been known for 100 years that cognitive functioning is impaired in schizophrenia, the implications of this impairment have only recently been clearly understood. While in the past, cognitive deficits were thought to be the result of other aspects of the illness, such as poor co- operation, or as a result of the treatment of the illness, it is now known that these factors exert only a very minor influence on cognitive deficit. This book, with contributions from the major international names in the field, reviews the most recent research on the impairment of cognitive functioning in schizophrenia, covering: what it is, how wide-ranging it can be, what the clinical implications are, and how it can be treated? The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides background information on the important aspects of cognitive functioning in schizophrenia. The second section provides information on the correlates of cognitive functioning, examining classical symptoms of the illness, as well as social and adaptive functional deficits. The final section provides information on the treatment of cognitive functioning in schizophrenia, from the older less effective treatments with conventional antipsychotics, to the developing treatment strategies using experimental compounds. A clear insight into cognitive deficit is the key to understanding why previous treatments have failed, and the key by which new treatments may change this terrible illness, treatments significantly more effective than earlier interventions.

The internet has transformed the world we live in, but it also poses new risks to our psychological well-being. This book provides an introduction to the issue of internet addiction, an increasingly common problem. All day, every day, we are connected to the internet, putting most people at some level of risk for internet addiction. Problematic internet use can take many forms, including overuse of social media and addictions to online shopping, gaming, or pornography. Such behaviors can cause anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation, loneliness, and physical health problems. People can lose their jobs and families, and in a few extreme cases, internet addiction has directly led to the death of the addicted individual or a child in their care. Internet Addiction is the latest volume in Greenwood's Health and Medical Issues Today series. Part I explores what internet addiction is, the many forms it can take, and the serious consequences it can have. Part II examines a number of controversies and issues, such as balancing the internet's benefits against its addictive nature. Part III provides a variety of useful materials, including case studies, a timeline of critical events, and a directory of resources. Explores why the internet and other emerging technologies are so addictive, profiling the many forms problematic internet use can take and discussing who is most at risk Examines key issues and controversies related to problematic internet use, such as whether or not it should be labeled an addiction and who bears primary responsibility for preventing and combating its negative effects Offers illuminating case studies that use engaging real-world scenarios to highlight how internet addiction can arise, the effects it can have, and how it can be addressed Provides readers with a helpful Directory of Resources to guide their search for additional information

This unique volume focuses on the relationship between basic research in emotion and emotional dysfunction in depression and anxiety. Each chapter is authored by a highly regarded scientist who looks at both psychological and biological implications of research relevant to psychiatrists and psychologists. And following each chapter is engaging commentary that raises questions, illuminates connections with other bodies of work, and provides points of integration across different research traditions. Topics range from stress, cognitive functioning, and personality to affective style and behavioral inhibition, and the book as a whole has significant implications for understanding and treating anxiety disorders.

Meeting the complex needs of some of the most vulnerable populations in our society often involves the need for connected networks of care providing health, social care, educational and voluntary sector services. This presents major challenges for both clients and practitioners for this to work well. Adaptive mentalization based integrative treatment (AMBIT) has been developed over the last 15 years to address the needs of both clients and practitioners in trying to make this work well. The basic framework for AMBIT was set out by the authors in AMBIT: A Guide for Teams to Develop Systems of Care in 2017 but continues to evolve through collaboration with practitioners across the world who work with people (both young people and adults) for whom many current services are not experienced as helpful. AMBIT for People with Multiple Needs: Applications in Practice describes the progress of this collaboration and shows how AMBIT has been applied in health, social care and education settings across the world. Contributors convey the detail of what it is like to apply AMBIT to their work by combining case illustrations with detailed descriptions of therapeutic practice and technique, along with inspiring and remarkable stories of therapeutic change. The chapters examine therapeutic casework in very different services providing community and residential based care with adults and young people across Europe and the UK. With AMBIT constantly evolving, the book explores recent developments in the AMBIT model and provides rich new thinking about how "helping" services can be supported to provide meaningful help and change.

Obsessive self-promotion, an aggressive triggering response, and retaliatory rants.

“Both sensitive and incisive, beautifully capturing the paradoxical dynamic of narcissism―that the grandiosity and surrounding bravado belies an underlying fragility and brittleness.” ―Kenneth N. Levy, PhD, Associate Professor, Penn State University; Senior Fellow, Personality Disorders Institute, Cornell University

Even before Donald Trump entered America’s highest office, an international survey revealed that narcissism is part of the assumed “national character” of Americans. While only a small number actually meet the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder, those exploitive few have a way of gaining center stage in our culture.

Fragile Bully: Understanding Our Destructive Affair With Narcissism in the Age of Trump looks beyond the sound bites of self-aggrandizing celebrities and selfish tweets to the real problem of narcissism. We see past the solo act to the vicious circles that arise in relationships with a fragile bully, and how patterns like this generate both power and self-destruction. We also look at the problem of Echo, how so many of us get hooked by the narcissist, and how variations on the destructive affair leave both partners dehumanized and diminished. Once we recognize the steps in each dance, we can break the cycle and allow and the possibility of true engagement.

This book provides an up-to-date analysis of major issues in the field of sexual abuse, both established and emerging, and asks how we can develop the most evidence-based, fit-for-purpose approach in responding to and preventing it. Sexual abuse is a multi-disciplinary, international issue that exists at the crossroads of theory, practice, and research. Therefore, the book is future-facing and asks the reader to critically reflect upon current and future research and practice, and to ask: what next? In doing this the book examines the theory, research, and practice on a range of topics including, grooming behaviors, risk management, risk assessment, sexual fantasies, professional engagement, and policy development. These, and other essential topics for effective and efficient care for people who have committed sexual offenses, are addressed as part of the ultimate goal to reduce and even eliminate sexual victimization in the future.

This text describes principles for understanding and managing permanent neuropsychological impairment in brain-damaged adults. It also presents a new perspective on disorders of self-awareness and recovery as well as deterioration after brain injury, which have clear implications for neurorehabilitation.

This book addresses the over-prescribing of antidepressants in people with mostly mild and subthreshold depression. It outlines the steep increase in antidepressant prescription and critically examines the current scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of antidepressants in depression. The book is not only concerned with the conflicting views as to whether antidepressants are useful or ineffective in various forms of depression, but also aims at detailing how flaws in the conduct and reporting of antidepressant trials have led to an overestimation of benefits and underestimation of harms. The transformation of the diagnostic concept of depression from a rare but serious disorder to an over-inclusive, highly prevalent but predominantly mild and self-limiting disorder is central to the books argument. It maintains that biological reductionism in psychiatry and pharmaceutical marketing reframed depression as a brain disorder, corroborating the overemphasis on drug treatment in both research and practice. Finally, the author goes on to explore how pharmaceutical companies have distorted the scientific literature on the efficacy and safety of antidepressants and how patient advocacy groups, leading academics, and medical organisations with pervasive financial ties to the industry helped to promote systematically biased benefit-harm evaluations, affecting public attitudes towards antidepressants as well as medical education, training, and practice.

One day a teenage boy gets on his bike and rides forty miles up California's Pacific Coast Highway to avoid causing an earthquake he fears will endanger his mother and sister. But the quake he is experiencing is not coming from beneath the earth; it's the onset of bipolar illness. Blinded by Hope describes what it's like to have an unusually bright, creative child-and then to have that child suddenly be hit with an illness that defies description and cure. Over the years, McGuire attributes her son's lost jobs, broken relationships, legal troubles, and periodic hospitalizations to the manic phase of his illness, denying the severity of his growing drug use-but ultimately, she has to face her own addiction to rescuing him, and to forge a path for herself toward acceptance, resilience, and love. A wakeup call about the epidemic of mental illness, substance abuse, and mass incarceration in our society, Blinded by Hope shines a light on the shadow of family dynamics that shame, ignorance, and stigma rarely let the public see, and asks the question: How does a mother cope when love is not enough?

The misuse of alcohol presents both individual physical and psychological problems as well as wider social consequences. Alcohol misuse is a frequent cause of attendance in accident and emergency departments and an underlying factor in a range of long term and chronic conditions commonly treated and managed within primary care settings. This expanded fifth edition includes new chapters on alcohol and the young person, alcohol related liver disease, neurological problems, alcohol and the older person, alcohol and cancer, and the alcohol nurse specialist. There is also improved coverage of the role of alcohol health workers, and guidance on the availability of voluntary alcohol services more generally, and the concluding resources chapter provides further guidance on how to access appropriate services. It incorporates current NICE guidelines, the Government's Alcohol Strategy 2012, as well as case study scenarios and examples of best practice throughout. From a new editor and a multidisciplinary contributor team, ABC of Alcohol is a practical guide for general practitioners, family physicians, practice nurses, primary healthcare professionals as well as for junior doctors, medical and nursing students. This title is also available as a mobile App from MedHand Mobile Libraries. Buy it now from iTunes, Google Play or the MedHand store.

Problem Drinking aims to bridge the wide gap that exists between the modern, scientific account of the nature of alcohol problems, and the popular understanding of the subject. In particular, it presents detailed evidence and arguments against the commonly accepted view that 'alcoholism' is best regarded as a disease. Instead, it outlines an alternative approach to alcohol problems, based on the premise that they are best seen as examples of socially learned behaviour. In the third edition, the authors have brought the book up to date by covering the major developments that have taken place in recent years, in particular in the field of genetics. The book is also one of the first to discuss the results and recommendations of the 5 year long Project MATCH study, probably the most extensive alcohol study ever undertaken, the results of which are due to be published in 1997. The book provides a useful textbook for students undertaking courses in alcoholism, as part of psychology and psychiatry degrees, and provides practical advice for counsellors, social workers, and health promotion officers. Reviews of the 2nd edition '... a valuable and clearly written exposition of problem drinking...' British Journal of Psychiatry, 1990 'Certainly this book should provoke general practitioners to reassess their views about the problem and should be read by those people working in the field.' Family Practice, 1991

A Journey Toward Understanding, Active Treatment, and Societal Prevention of Trauma Imagine, if you will, a disease--one that has only subtle outward symptoms but can hijack your entire body without notice, one that transfers easily between parent and child, one that can last a lifetime if untreated. According to Dr. Paul Conti, this is exactly how society should conceptualize trauma: as an out-of-control epidemic with a potentially fatal prognosis. In Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic, Dr. Conti examines the most recent research, clinical best practices, and dozens of real-life stories to present a deeper and more urgent view of trauma. Not only does Dr. Conti explain how trauma affects the body and mind, he also demonstrates that trauma is transmissible among close family and friends, as well as across generations and within vast demographic groups. With all this in mind, Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic proposes a course of treatment for the seemingly untreatable. Here, Dr. Conti traces a step-by-step series of concrete changes that we can make both as individuals and as a society to alleviate trauma's effects and prevent further traumatization in the future. You will discover: - The different post-trauma syndromes, how they are classified, and their common symptoms - An examination of how for-profit health care systems can inhibit diagnosis and treatment of trauma - How social crises and political turmoil encourage the spread of group trauma - Methods for confronting and managing your fears as they arise in the moment - How trauma disrupts mental processes such as memory, emotional regulation, and logical decision-making - The argument for a renewed humanist social commitment to mental health and wellness It's only when we understand how a disease spreads and is sustained that we are able to create its ultimate cure. With Trauma: The Invisible Epidemic, Dr. Conti reveals that what we once considered a lifelong, unbeatable mental illness is both treatable and preventable.

This book provides a unique perspective on what it is like to be brain damaged, seen through the eyes of doctors and neuroscientists who have themselves suffered a brain injury or brain illness. It brings together more than 50 personal stories written over 120 years. Each article in its own right represents a fascinating insight into the effects of brain damage on the individual, covering areas that are often neglected in neurology and neuropsychology textbooks. Each of the personal accounts is accompanied by a Commentary that puts the papers into the context of our current theory and clinical practice. There are sections covering memory disorders, language disorders, visual disorders, Parkinson's disease, brain tumour, stroke, head injury, and epilepsy. An introduction to each of these sections provides background information for the non-specialist reader. An Overview chapter attempts to integrate the lessons to be learned across the various sections. Injured brains of medical minds: views from within presents some extraordinary stories and makes a highly original introduction to neuropsychology and neurology. It is also an invaluable resource for anyone involved in neuropsychological or neurological research.

The easing of mental suffering by treatments which directly affect the substance of the brain has a long history and an established place in psychiatric practice. This new edition of a highly successful book reviewing the current status of these treatment methods has been updated to include discussion of new groups of compounds and also new families of drugs which have come into greater prominence, such as newer antidepressants, The book is concerned particularly with clinical practice and discusses in detail the management of individual conditions and the use of psychotropic drugs. The rational and effective use of these techniques needs an understanding of the scientific background, and chapters are devoted to basic pharmacology, the evaluation of treatment methods, the development of new techniques, the psychosocial and politico-ethical aspects of treatment, and the special problems encountered in treating children and the elderly. The economic aspects of prescribing are also outlined. The book will be of interest to psychiatrists, especially those reading for postgraduate qualifications, to those dealing with the mentally ill, and to neruopharmacologists who wish to understand current treatment methods in clincial psychiatry.

This book analyses the clinical interaction between depression and personality dysfunction to help clinicians better understand and treat patients with complex depression. It proposes an innovative perspective to clinical work that moves away from a disorder-centered approach to a person-centered approach by analysing complex depression through the lens of functional domains related to personality functioning and applying Research Domain Criteria to diagnosis and treatment planning. By doing so, it aims to contribute to the development of precision psychotherapy by applying the principles of precision medicine to mental health care. The book is divided in two parts. Chapters in the first part review problems in five domains of personality dysfunction that drive complex depressive presentations - identity, affect regulation, self-other regulation, social dysfunction and self-criticism - and the neurobiological findings underlying them. In the second part, authors present integrative models of depression and personality dysfunction and their implications for diagnosis and treatment. Depression and Personality Dysfunction: An Integrative Functional Domains Perspective is a scientific and clinical guide for the understanding and treatment of patients with depression complicated by personality dysfunction. It will be a useful tool for clinicians looking for resources to develop a more person-centered and evidence-based approach to mental health care.

This book proposes an integrated model of treatment for Personality Disorders (PDs) that goes beyond outdated categorical diagnoses, aiming to treat the general factors underlying the pathology of personality. The authors emphasize the development of metacognitive functions and the integration of procedures and techniques of different psychotherapies. The book addresses the treatment of complex cases that present with multiform psychopathological features, outlining clinical interventions that focus on structures of personal meaning, metacognition and interpersonal processes. In addition, this book: Provides an overview of pre-treatment phase procedures such as assessment interviews Explains the Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy (MIT) approach and summarizes MIT clinical guidelines Outlines pharmacological treatment for patients with PDs Includes checklists and other useful resources for therapists evaluating their adherence to the treatment method Complex Cases of Personality Disorders: Metacognitive and Interpersonal Therapy is both an insightful reexamining of the theoretical underpinnings of personality disorder treatment and a practical resource for clinicians.

Depression, a highly common clinical disorder, is an important and clinically relevant topic for both clinical researchers and practitioners to address, because of its prevalence, impact on the individual and society, association with other mental and physical health problems and the social contexts in which it develops. Depression ranks in Germany and central Europe as the third among the leading mental disorders and world-wide is a leading cause of disability. It is estimated that 8.3 % of the German population is depressed within a year (11.2 % women, 5.5 % men). These statistics mean that 4 million people per year are depressed in Germany alone (one year prevalence). According to the WHO, over 300 million people world-wide experience depression and in the USA the financial burden of this disorder, due to disability and work absenteeism, reaches Depression is also becoming more frequent over time and has a high risk of recidivism -particularly since its most common form, Major Depressive Disorder (DSM-5; ICD10) tends to occur in episodes. For example, 20% to 40% of people become depressed again within two years after their first depressive episode, meaning that a major aim of any therapeutic intervention should be to prevent future relapses. Depression also shows very high comorbidities with other mental and physical health conditions. Its overlap with anxiety pathology is so high that clinicians are concerned with whether the two disorder categories are indeed distinct or if they show substantial etiological overlap. Depression is also associated with heart disease and even cancer, making it a risk factor for mortality and morbidity that needs to be identified early and addressed effectively. In addition to Major Depressive Disorder, the often severe Bipolar Disorder, and the chronic form of Depression referred to as dysthymia are additional mood disorders that among them require careful differential diagnosis. They also lead to questions regarding their common or distinct etiological mechanisms. In order to gain a better understanding of Depression as a clinical disorder, one needs to look at it as a multifaceted phenomenon. Depression is a neurobehavioral condition, and one has to be up to date and have solid understanding of its biological substrate, at a genetic, neuronal, hormonal and pharmacological level. Depression is also a socio-demographic phenomenon, and one needs to examine its epidemiology, that might contain significant cues towards its clearer understanding. It is more prevalent, for example, in certain regions, climates, age groups and genders (much more prevalent in women, with age of appearance in young adulthood but also presents as a significant problem for youth and the elderly), is associated with stereotypes and stigma and can be the aftermath of crises, trauma and loss. The etiology of Depression remains under scrutiny, though recently much more knowledge is emerging from contemporary neuroimaging, genotyping and data science methods. Different neural and behavioral systems may be involved contributing to the significant heterogeneity within the disorder. Social roles, stressors, attachment patterns, family support and social networks, and individual (e.g. gender linked) vulnerabilities may contribute significantly towards increasing risk for developing depression. Different therapeutic approaches, like those stemming from the psychoanalytic/psychodynamic perspectives and those stemming from the cognitive/behavioral (2nd and 3rd wave) tradition focus on the components of etiology considered most dominant. As science progresses with clearer evidence regarding the important etiological factors and their interactions, these different perspectives, each with its own contribution, may need to take new developments into consideration, adapt and even begin to converge. These different aspects of the topic of Depression, which are central to the scientific aims of clinical scientists, but also permeate the way clinicians approach assessment, diagnosis, case formulation and treatment, become the focus of the present volume. Following a conference held at the University of Cyprus, in Nicosia, Cyprus in October 2019, which included presentations by internationally renowned experts in the field on these various aspects of Depression, the idea of extending the topics presented and discussed at the meeting into more elaborated and substantive chapters and synthesizing them into an edited volume was generated. The aim was to fill a substantive gap, with a volume that would be beneficial to a wider, interdisciplinary audience of clinicians, trainees and researchers with examine the different aspects of Depression. In this Edited volume, with contributions from prominent experts in the field, we propose to discuss the subject of conceptualizing and treating Depression and related conditions (e.g. Suicide, Bipolar Disorder) from different theoretical perspectives and after taking into consideration current research into the etiology and maintenance of this condition. Chapters on theoretical perspectives of treatment cover a wide range of approaches, that could be broadly clustered under behavioural and psychodynamic points of view. Perspectives discussed in this volume are psychodynamic therapy, 2nd waver CBT, acceptance and commitment therapy and mentalization therapy. Special topics with great relevance to treatment, include treatment in different levels of care (e.g. partial hospital setting; prevention of suicide; working with cancer patients). The book provides a unique combination of current empirical findings on etiology of depression and suicide, treatment considerations and practical recommendations, treatment in different settings and combination of different theoretical perspectives that can enrich a therapists' repertoire of tools for understanding and approaching depression. The book describes various theoretical approaches without adhering to anyone but with an effort to highlight common underlying themes like issues of loss, self-esteem, guilt, grief and emotion regulation as these permeate the various perspectives. In this way the book presents a combination of science and practice and of various views that constitute an excellent resource of researchers, clinicians and students of mental health professions. In a final chapter the two editors, Drs. Christos Charis and Georgia Panayiotou, make an effort to impartially integrate information from the various perspectives, highlighting the utility of each approach to address specific vulnerability and etiological factors discussed in the book. In this regard, the volume stresses the idea of the need for continuous and open dialogue between perspectives, theories, levels of investigation, research areas, practitioner needs and scientific views to help make progress in treatment and address this complex and multi-faceted phenomenon in the service of patients, their carers and societies in general.

'A new approach to mental disorder. Randolph Nesse's insightful book suggests that conditions such as anxiety and depression have a clear evolutionary purpose ... This intriguing book turns some age-old questions about the human condition upside down' Tim Adams, Observer One of the world's most respected psychiatrists provides a much-needed new evolutionary framework for making sense of mental illness With his classic book Why We Get Sick, Randolph Nesse established the field of evolutionary medicine. Now he returns with a book that transforms our understanding of mental disorders by exploring a fundamentally new question. Instead of asking why certain people suffer from mental illness, Nesse asks why natural selection has left us with fragile minds at all. Drawing on revealing stories from his own clinical practice and insights from evolutionary biology, Nesse shows how negative emotions are useful in certain situations, yet can become excessive. Anxiety protects us from harm in the face of danger, but false alarms are inevitable. Low mood prevents us from wasting effort in pursuit of unreachable goals, but it often escalates into pathological depression. Other mental disorders, such as addiction and anorexia, result from the mismatch between modern environments and our ancient human past. Taken together, these insights and many more help to explain the pervasiveness of human suffering, and show us new paths for relieving it. Good Reasons for Bad Feelings will fascinate anyone who wonders how our minds can be so powerful, yet so fragile, and how love and goodness came to exist in organisms shaped to maximize Darwinian fitness.

In the bestselling tradition of "The Psychopath Test" and "The""Sociopath Next Door," a compelling journey into the science and behavior of psychopaths in our lives, written by the leading scientist in the field of criminal psychopathy.
Why do psychopaths behave the way they do? Is it the result of their environment--how they were raised--or is there a genetic component to their lack of conscience? This is the question Kent A. Kiehl, a protegee of famed psychopath researcher Robert Hare, was determined to answer as he began his career. Kiehl, who created the world's first mobile MRI scanner to study psychopaths in prison populations, has collected the world's largest repository of forensic neuroscience. Over the last decade, he has scanned the brains of more than five hundred psychopaths, and three thousand other offenders. Over the course of "The Psychopath Whisperer," we follow the scientific bread crumbs that Kiehl uncovered to show that the key structures in the brains that correspond with emotional engagement and reactions to stimuli are diminished in psychopaths, offering new clues to how to predict and treat the disease.
In "The Psychopath Whisperer," Kiehl describes in fascinating detail his two decades in working with psychopaths and studying their thought processes--from the remorseless serial killers he meets with behind bars to children whose behavior and personality traits exhibit the early warning signs of psychopathy.
A compelling narrative of cutting-edge science, "The Psychopath Whisperer "will open the reader's eyes on a world that so many of us know only through the lens of Hannibal Lecter and the "Dexter "TV series--but with which we have a helpless fascination.

?In this new book, the successor to the classic in the field Counseling Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Substance Abusers: Dual Identities by Dana G. Finnegan and Emily B. McNally, Michael Shelton reviews the empirical literature and synthesizes what we know about the prevalence of LGBT substance use, abuse, and treatment availability, emphasizing the need for affirmative therapeutic practices. The principles of trauma-informed and culturally competent treatment/intervention are explained and assessed, as well as the challenges of minority stress and microaggressions experienced by the LGBT population. Separate sections focus on the sub-populations of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender individuals. Separate chapters focus on LGBT youth, the elderly, family constellations and concerns, criminal justice issues, and rural LGBT substance abuse. This volume provides an introduction to the field that will be useful both as a primary textbook and as a handbook/reference for LGBT-focused and general substance-use disorder clinics and their administrators, clinicians, trainees, allies and volunteers.

As a teenager, Victor Torres was a gang warlord and heroin addict on New York City's violent streets. Through the ministry of David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz, Victor had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ and came to realize that God had a purpose for his life. Victor has spent the last forty-five years helping tens of thousands of young men and women find freedom from drug addiction and gang life. Now, he answers your toughest questions about your addicted loved one. Without pulling punches or promising easy answers, Victor provides wisdom and expertise that can lead you toward success. Some of the questions Victor addresses are...

How can I know if my loved one has a substance abuse problem?

How can I tell the difference between helping and enabling?

What if my loved one refuses to get help?

When should I call the police?

What should we look for in a treatment program?

What can I expect when my loved one comes out of treatment?

How do I prepare for relapse?

God did not create your loved one to be an addict or a loser. On the contrary, God created him or her for a better life. Although, for the moment, it may seem like you are losing your loved one, they still have a God-given destiny and a purpose. No matter how bad the picture may look now, there is always hope.

The verb declutter has not yet made it into the Oxford English Dictionary, but its ever-increasing usage suggests that it's only a matter of time. Articles containing tips and tricks on how to get organized cover magazine pages and pop up in TV programs and commercials, while clutter professionals and specialists referred to as clutterologists are just a phone call away. Everywhere the sentiment is the same: clutter is bad.
In The Hoarders, Scott Herring provides an in-depth examination of how modern hoarders came into being, from their onset in the late 1930s to the present day. He finds that both the idea of organization and the role of the clutterologist are deeply ingrained in our culture, and that there is a fine line between clutter and deviance in America. Herring introduces us to Jill, whose countertops are piled high with decaying food and whose cabinets are overrun with purchases, while the fly strips hanging from her ceiling are arguably more fly than strip. When Jill spots a decomposing pumpkin about to be jettisoned, she stops, seeing in the rotting, squalid vegetable a special treasure. I've never seen one quite like this before, she says, and looks to see if any seeds remain. It is from moments like these that Herring builds his questions: What counts as an acceptable material life--and who decides? Is hoarding some sort of inherent deviation of the mind, or a recent historical phenomenon grounded in changing material cultures? Herring opts for the latter, explaining that hoarders attract attention not because they are mentally ill but because they challenge normal modes of material relations. Piled high with detailed and at times disturbing descriptions of uncleanliness not for the faint of heart, The Hoarders delivers a sweeping and fascinating history of hoarding that will cause us all to reconsider how we view these accumulators of clutter.

Despite efforts to redress the prejudice and discrimination faced by people with mental illness, a pervasive stigma remains. Many well-meant programs have attempted to counter stigma with affirming attitudes of recovery and self-determination. Yet the results of these efforts have been mixed. In The Stigma Effect, psychologist Patrick W. Corrigan examines the unintended consequences of mental health campaigns and proposes new policies in their place. Corrigan analyzes the agendas of government agencies, mental health care providers, and social service agencies that work with people with mental illness, dissecting how their best intentions can misfire. For example, a campaign to change the language around mental illness by replacing supposedly stigmatizing words with empowering ones has made little difference in how people with mental health conditions are viewed. Educational programs that frame mental illness as a brain disorder have made the general public less likely to blame people for their illnesses, but also skeptical that such conditions can be cured. Ultimately, Corrigan argues that effective strategies require leadership by those with lived experience, as their recovery stories replace ideas of incompetence and dangerousness with ones of hope and empowerment. As an experienced clinical researcher, as an advocate, and as a person who has struggled with such prejudices, Corrigan challenges readers to carefully examine anti-stigma programs and reckon with their true effects.