The mad among us A history of the care of America's mentally ill

Gerald N. Grob, 1931-

Book - 1994

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Subjects
Published
New York : Toronto : New York : Free Press ; Maxwell Macmillan Canada ; Maxwell Macmillan International c1994.
Language
English
Main Author
Gerald N. Grob, 1931- (-)
Physical Description
386 p.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780029126950
Contents unavailable.
Review by Choice Review

Grob (history of medicine, Rutgers Univ.) writes with authority as he provides a historical account of what ranks among the major social problems facing the US, namely, how should the "mad among us" be treated and managed? Mental illness, because of its chronicity and resistance to treatment, ranks as a very expensive proposition as the US debates the funding of comprehensive health care. Grob chronicles the care of the mentally ill from colonial America, where families and communities were responsible for such citizens, to the rise of the great state asylums and hospitals of the 19th century, to the contemporary scene, where significant numbers of the "homeless" in urban America are convalescing mental patients or addicts in need of treatment. This book provides a comprehensive historical perspective, including medical-professional and sociopolitical aspects, to enlighten anyone interested in this enduring problem. An important book for all collections. All levels. W. B. Dragoin; Georgia Southwestern College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review

Besides covering the changes in attitude toward and the treatment of the mentally ill in the U.S., Grob shows how psychiatry has progressed from a close relationship with asylums to essentially a private-office practice. Moreover, he ~clearly sets forth the birth and development of the Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane (parent of the American Psychiatric Association) and related organizations, as well as of such lay groups as the National Committee for Mental Hygiene and the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health. He limns the gradual change during the twentieth century from the mental hospitalization of the elderly to providing surrogate homes for them, and he places fads in psychiatry (dynamic, biological, etc.) in their historical contexts. Smoothly written and well documented, this is another example of Grob's gift for scholarly yet readable work in this important field. ~--William Beatty

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A large proportion of today's mentally ill homeless are substance abusers, according to Rutgers University professor of history Grob in this comprehensive study which will be of interest to specialists. He outlines a ``cyclical pattern'' of mental health care ``that has alternated between enthusiastic optimism and fatalistic pessimism.'' Grob traces the growth of psychiatry as a medical specialty along with changes in public policy and social attitudes. In colonial times families and communities cared for their ``lunaticks''; with 19th-century urbanization, hospitals began assuming responsibility for the mentally ill, torn between custodial and therapeutic duties. Grob records a post-WW II trend toward de-institutionalization and treatment in outpatient or community centers staffed by psychiatrists trained in psychoneurology and a range of therapies, including electric shock, analysis and medication. Today, the author notes, general hospitals and local clinics, overloaded by both the chronically ill and substance-abuse cases, can assure little continuity of care. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

Grob (history of medicine, Rutgers Univ.) chronicles the treatment of the mentally ill in America from the Colonial period to the present. This care has passed from the hands of families and local communities to asylums and finally to today's decentralized psychiatric system. Grob asserts that the emergence of a young adult chronic population has had an adverse effect on our current system of care, and he urges changes to meet the different disorders and needs of this group. Although his book is intended for a general audience, Grob's prose does not lend itself to this purpose. Still, since there are so few monographs on this subject, larger libraries may wish to purchase this work.-- January Adams, ODSI Research Lib., Raritan, N.J. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

An informative survey of America's evolving responses to the question of society's obligation to the mentally ill and how best to meet that obligation. Grob (History of medicine/Rutgers) has previously published scholarly works on the history of the care of the mentally ill. Here, he reaches out to a larger audience with a highly readable account that begins in the colonial days. Back then, ``lunaticks'' were primarily a family responsibility, and those without families to care for them were seen as a social and economic problem, not a medical one. Public almshouses took them in, along with widows, orphans, and others needing public assistance. By the middle of the 18th century, the Enlightenment, with its faith in reason and science, gave rise to the idea of treating and possibly curing the mad, and insane asylums began to appear in cities. Grob recounts the efforts of Dorothea Dix to persuade state legislatures to set up mental hospitals, and by the middle of the 19th century, most states had at least one. But the 20th century found these optimistically founded institutions overcrowded and largely custodial in function. Exposure of conditions in these ``snakepits'' led to calls for new approaches, and the claim that community care and treatment were superior became an article of faith in the 1960's. The author points out that the federal government's current community mental-health policy has overlooked the need for supportive services to ensure proper housing, food, and social services, and he notes that since the 70's new problems have been created by a subgroup of the mentally ill--young, alienated substance-abusers. Grob's historical perspective gives him a balanced view that cautions against both unrealistic expectations and defeatist paralysis. Clear, engaging account of a persistent social problem, full of humanity and wisdom.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.