Gerald N. GrobMary Ann JimenezRobert WhitakerDorothea DixFranklin PierceThomas MortonNancy TomesClifford Whittingham BeersFranklin D. RooseveltAlbert DeutschDavid HealyGeorge W. DowdallDavid Hartley and Donna C. Bird and David Lambert and John CoffinAnn B. JohnsonJacqueline PeckoffDave UmhoeferBebe Moore Campbell and Tavis SmileyGerald N. GrobE. Fuller TorreyJim ReiserRalph Aquila, M.D. and Thomas Malamud and Thomas Sweet and John D. KelleherRichard G. Frank and Sherry A. GliedPatrik JonssonTrish Wood

Foreword	p. 11
Introduction	p. 14
Chapter 1 Mental Health in Early American History
Chapter Preface	p. 24
1 Mental Disease in the Colonial Period: An Economic and Social Problem	p. 27
2 Early American Speculations About the "Distracted"	p. 35
3 The Medical Treatment of Mental Illness: The Work of Benjamin Rush	p. 42
4 Dorothea Dix Advocates for the Humane Treatment of the Mentally Ill	p. 51
5 A President Rejects a Reformer's Plea	p. 57
Chapter 2 The Era of Mental Institutions
Chapter Preface	p. 65
1 Hospitalization of the Mentally Ill: The Pennsylvania Hospital Is Founded	p. 67
2 Thomas Kirkbride and "Asylum Medicine"	p. 75
3 A Memoir of an Illness	p. 84
4 A Governor Speaks on Behalf of the Disabled	p. 94
5 Calling for the Reform of the State Asylum	p. 99
Chapter 3 Revolutionary Changes Lead to the Modern Mental Health-Care System
Chapter Preface	p. 107
1 The National Institute of Mental Health Is Established	p. 109
2 Psychoactive Drugs and Their Role in the Treatment of the Severely Mentally Ill	p. 118
3 From State Mental Hospital to Psychiatric Center	p. 124
4 The Role of Community Mental Health Centers	p. 129
5 The Rationale Behind Deinstitutionalization	p. 138
Chapter 4 Mental Health Activism
Chapter Preface	p. 148
1 Regaining One's Personhood: A Personal Account	p. 150
2 The U.S. Government Protects the Rights of the Mentally Ill	p. 155
3 Revisiting the Case of Alberta Lessard	p. 162
4 A Writer Looks at Mental Illness in Her Community	p. 167
Chapter 5 Improving Care for the Mentally Ill
Chapter Preface	p. 175
1 A Critique of the Current Mental Health System	p. 177
2 A Blueprint for Change	p. 182
3 Gaining Insight into Lack of Insight	p. 187
4 Treating the Medical Problems of the Mentally Ill	p. 191
5 Negotiating the Maze of Social Programs	p. 198
6 Community-Based Care for the Mentally Ill Needs to Be Strongly Regulated	p. 204
7 Providing Mental Health Care for Soldiers in Iraq	p. 208
Chronology	p. 215
Organizations to Contact	p. 221
For Further Research	p. 225
Index	p. 229