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Summary
Summary
This extensive overview charts the fluctuating course of mental health policy in the United States from colonial times to today.
Mental Health in America: A Reference Handbook examines the evolution of mental health policy in America from the almshouses of colonial times and the dawn of psychoanalysis in the early 1900s to the community mental health revolution in the 1960s and the insurance problems plaguing the field today.
Addressing such conditions as Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, anxiety, dementia, bipolar disorder, and depression, this work explores the changing definitions and explanations of mental illness and provides detailed analyses of treatments and their effects, including electroshock therapy, lobotomy, and psychotropic drugs. Readers will meet such key players as Horace Mann, who called for the insane to be made wards of the state, and assemblywoman Helen Thomson, an involuntary-treatment advocate referred to by her opponents as "Nurse Ratchett."
Author Notes
Donna R. Kemp is professor of public administration and MPA Coordinator of the Department of Political Science at California State University, Chico, CA. Her published works include Biomedical Policy and Mental Health and Mental Health in the Workplace: An Employer's and Manager's Guide .
Reviews (2)
Choice Review
Kemp's reference handbook stands out among recent volumes on mental health or illness, e.g., Marie Thompson's Mental Illness (CH, Aug'07, 44-6888) and David Pilgrim's Key Concepts in Mental Health (2005). Truly a handbook, this volume is replete with facts, statistics, definitions, policies, and global historical perspectives on mental illness. Descriptions of changing governmental initiatives and funding priorities at the national and state levels, combined with status reports from numerous consumer organizations and government offices, portray the chaotic state of mental health services in the US. Kemp's background in teaching and public policy is evident in the detailed coverage, including 21st-century issues such as when and why the mental health system fails, and a description of an "ideal system." Proposed solutions include incorporation of mental health issues into primary health care, and a multidisciplinary approach to the goal of recovery for many people. Other useful features of this book are the wealth of epidemiological data, a legislative outline, biographies of key players, and an annotated bibliography of current books, reports, and Web sites. Students and researchers in human services, psychology, public health, and other health professions would do well to begin with this comprehensive work. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. M. K. Hartung Florida Gulf Coast University
Library Journal Review
Kemp (public administration, California State Univ., Chico; Mental Health in the Workplace: An Employer's and Manager's Guide) opens with an incisive history of America's approach to mental disorders since the 19th century, then gives a fascinating chronology of cultural approaches to mental illness since 10,000 B.C.E. In the nine subsequent chapters, she presents clear-cut definitions of disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's, schizophrenia) and treatments (e.g., electroshock therapy, psychotropic drugs), field-relevant biographies (e.g., of involuntary-treatment advocate Helen Thomson), legislative debates, and eye-opening statistics. She also broaches the difficult issues of managed care, deinstitutionalization, and criminal recidivism, citing specific examples and court cases. A 26-page resource list and a valuable glossary of terms round out the book. Carefully researched and rich with insight; highly recommended for all medical and sociology-related collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
