The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs - Brossura

Moncrieff, J.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1137277432 ISBN 13: 9781137277435

Casa editrice: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013

Riassunto

Antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drugs have become some of the biggest blockbusters of the early 21st century, increasingly prescribed not just to people with 'schizophrenia' or other severe forms of mental disturbance but for a range of more common psychological complaints. This book challenges the accepted account that portrays antipsychotics as specific treatments that target an underlying brain disease and explores early views that suggested, in contrast, that antipsychotics achieve their effects by inducing a state of neurological suppression. Professional enthusiasm for antipsychotics eclipsed this understanding, exaggerated the benefits of antipsychotics and minimized or ignored evidence of their toxic effects. The pharmaceutical industry has been involved in expanding the use of antipsychotics into territory where it is likely that their dangers far outweigh their advantages.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

"This book will make an enormous contribution towards a more rational, transparent and ethical approach to the use of neuroleptic drugs. By implication it also offers up a strong argument for much wider choice for people in crisis, particularly the provision of minimal drug/drug-free systems of help and support, such as Soteria-type facilities and Open Dialogue. It is a must-read for all psychiatrists and mental health professionals, and its accessibility means that many survivors/service users and carers will find it a valuable ally in their fight for more humane and less harmful alternatives to psychiatric drug treatment." - Philip Thomas, University of Bradford, UK

'a meticulous, balanced history of antipsychotic drugs' - Nature

'All in all, this is a brilliantly clear-eyed, informative, well-referenced and at times disturbing book which should be essential reading for clinicians, policy-makers and patients alike.' - Psychosis: Psychological, Social and Integrative Approaches

'Joanna Moncrieff's courageous research continues to point out that the emperor, while dressed, is wearing the wrong clothes for the job.' - Therapy Today

'Psychiatrist Moncrieff [...] offers a refreshingly critical look at the motivation behind atypical antipsychotic drug use from the pharmaceutical standpoint as well as the pharmacological basis, or lack thereof, in some cases.' - Choice

'This schematic account cannot do justice to the tightness of the arguments and numerous illustrative examples with which Dr Moncrieff charts the all-important transition from the drug-centred to the disease-centred model and its adverse consequences.' - Brain

Descrizione del libro:

As antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drugs become some of the 21st century's biggest blockbusters, this book provides a challenging reappraisal of their history

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Palgrave Macmillan
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1137277432
• ISBN 13: 9781137277435
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 296