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Book Cover
Book
Author Dowbiggin, Ian Robert, 1952-

Title The quest for mental health : a tale of science, medicine, scandal, sorrow, and mass society / Ian Dowbiggin
Published Cambridge [UK] : Cambridge University Press, 2011

Copies

Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 MELB  362.19689 Dow/Qfm  AVAILABLE
Description x, 248 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Series Cambridge essential histories
Cambridge essential histories.
Contents Introduction -- A new egalitarianism -- Bricks and mortar humanity -- Mental hygiene -- A bottomless pit -- Emotional welfare
Summary "This is the story of one of the most far-reaching human endeavors in history: the quest for mental well-being. From its origins in the eighteenth century to its wide scope in the early twenty-first, this search for emotional health and welfare has cost billions. In the name of mental health, millions around the world have been tranquilized, institutionalized, psycho-analyzed, sterilized, lobotomized and even euthanized. Yet at the dawn of the new millennium, reported rates of depression and anxiety are unprecedentedly high. Drawing on years of field research, Ian Dowbiggin argues that if the quest for emotional well-being has reached a crisis point in the twenty-first century, it is because mass society is enveloped by cultures of therapism and consumerism, which increasingly advocate bureaucratic and managerial approaches to health and welfare"-- Provided by publisher
Notes Formerly CIP. Uk
Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction; 2. A new egalitarianism; 3. Bricks and mortar humanity; 4. Mental hygiene; 5. A bottomless pit; 6. Emotional welfare
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-226) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Mental illness.
Mental health.
Personality.
Emotions.
Mental Health.
Mental Disorders -- history.
Mental Health -- history.
Emotions.
Mental Disorders -- history.
Personality.
LC no. 2010054413
ISBN 9780521868679 hardback
052186867X hardback
9780521688680 paperback
052168868X paperback