The Drugs That Changed Our Minds: The History Of Psychiatry In Ten Treatments

Author: Lauren Slater

Stock information

General Fields

  • : 37.99 NZD
  • : 9781471136894
  • : Simon & Schuster, Limited
  • : Simon & Schuster, Limited
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  • : January 2018
  • : 234mm X 153mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 37.99
  • : April 2018
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Lauren Slater
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  • : Paperback
  • : Export
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  • : English
  • : 615.78
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  • :
  • : 320
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Barcode 9781471136894
9781471136894

Description

As our approach to mental illness has oscillated from biological to psychoanalytical and back again, so have our treatments. With the rise of psychopharmacology, an ever-increasing number of people throughout the globe are taking a psychotropic drug, yet nearly seventy years after doctors first began prescribing them, we still don't really know exactly how or why they work - or don't work - on what ails our brains. In The Drugs that Changed Our Minds, Lauren Slater offers an explosive account not just of the science but of the people - inventors, detractors and consumers - behind our narcotics, from the earliest, Thorazine and Lithium, up through Prozac, Ecstasy, 'magic mushrooms', the most cutting-edge memory drugs and neural implants. In so doing, she narrates the history of psychiatry itself and illuminates the signature its colorful little capsules have left on millions of brains worldwide, and how these wonder drugs may heal us or hurt us.

Reviews

'Weaving together the history of psychopharmacology and her personal experience as a patient, Slater offers readers a candid and compelling glimpse at life on psychiatric drugs and the science behind them. Intriguing and instructive.' * Booklist * 'In this ambitious undertaking, psychologist Slater applies vigorous research and intimate reflection to the issues involved with treating mental suffering...highly compelling' * Kirkus * 'A profound and essential look at a phenomenon of our times. Meticulously researched, The Drugs That Changed Our Minds is also a deeply moving personal investigation into the drugs so many of us rely upon for our survival. Slater is much more than a trusted guide: she's a brave and eloquent companion who doesn't shy away from controversy. You'll be talking and thinking about The Drugs That Changed Our Minds long after you've read it.' -- Terri Cheney, author of the New York Times bestseller Manic