Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Joe Kennedy: A Man with Problems
2. Robert Felix: A Man with Plans
3. The Birth of the Federal Mental Health Program: 1960-1963
4. The Short, Unhappy Life of the Federal Mental Health Program:
1964-1970
5. The Death of the Federal Mental Health Program: 1971-1980
6. The Perfect Storm: 1981-1999
7. Dimensions of the Current Disaster: 2000-2012
8. Solutions: What Have We Learned and What Should We Do?
E. Fuller Torrey is Executive Director of the Stanley Medical Research Institute in Chevy Chase, MD, founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, and Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
"For a few days in September--after a psychotic gunman killed 12
people in Washington's Navy Yard--we were forced to ask ourselves,
yet again, how we treat the seriously mentally ill in America and
whether we need to rethink our policies and assumptions. No one is
better equipped to address those questions than E. Fuller Torrey."
--Sally Satel, Wall Street Journal
"This is a powerful book on how to prevent the high profile
tragedies that galvanize national attention, and the thousands of
other tragedies that pass under the radar. I highly recommend it to
all advocates and policymakers who care about mental illness."
--Huffington Post
"This wise and unflinching book is an object lesson in good
intentions gone awry on a grand scale. It should be widely read."
--New York Times
"An important book by a refreshingly candid author who shares his
vast knowledge in the interests of the needy." --Kirkus Reviews,
starred review
"Torrey is the conscience of the country and its most articulate
spokesperson when it comes to public mental health care. His latest
installment, American Psychosis, is a scathing analysis of the
abject failure of U.S. mental health care policy written in his
usual lucid and compelling style. Torrey is the Dorthea Dix of our
time." -- Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, President Elect, American
Psychiatric Association; Lawrence C. Kolb Professor and Chairman
of
Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons;
and Director, New York State Psychiatric Institute
"The first time I heard Torrey speak at a meeting of psychiatrists
I was so offended I got up and left. Five years later I realized
that everything he had said was true. This book will, I believe,
offend many people; hopefully it will take them less time to
recognize the truth of what Torrey has written." -- Alan A. Stone,
MD, Former President of the American Psychiatric Association,
Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law and Psychiatry in the Faculty of
Law and the
Faculty of Medicine, Harvard University
"Torrey's superb new book is a devastating indictment of America's
mental health 'system,' a story of good intentions gone
disastrously awry. Torrey combines a deep professional knowledge of
severe mental illness with an unparalleled understanding of the
politics and policy of mental health. His lively writing weaves
together powerful and poignant examples of the problem with
hard-headed and yet compassionate solutions to one of America's
greatest public policy
tragedies." -- Stuart M. Butler, PhD, Distinguished Fellow and
Director, Center for Policy Innovation, The Heritage Foundation
"With persuasive facts and gripping, tragic examples, Torrey
documents what state psychiatric hospitals, community mental health
centers, and jails have in common: millions of seriously mentally
ill people treated inhumanely and inadequately, causing
deterioration in the care of the most vulnerable. He examines the
lessons learned from mental illness service programs over the past
50 years and concludes that we should greatly expand the best, such
as proven
programs in Wisconsin and New York City, and eliminate the worst,
such as for-profit mental illness providers like nursing and board
and care homes. American Psychosis is an unprecedented,
invaluable
elaboration of how to alter a national tragedy." -- Sidney M.
Wolfe, MD, Public Citizen Health Research Group, Co-author of Worst
Pills, Best Pills, and Editor, WorstPills.org
"Vintage Torrey: Comprehensive, deep, and thoughtful; biting and to
the point; yet hopeful and hoping for change." -- John A. Talbott,
MD, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of
Medicine
"The author successfully weaves in political, social, and medical
influences of the time, permitting readers to comprehend the
challenges faced during this period. It is clear the author has a
passion for this subject, and he provides solid conclusions that
should leave readers wondering when, if not now, is the appropriate
time to overhaul the system once again." -Steven T. Herron, MD,
Doody's Health Sciences Book Review
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