Not So Abnormal Psychology: A Pragmatic View of Mental Illness 1st Edition

When he fell, all the King's men & all his horses couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Can our Kings - our experts in mental health - piece back together those of us who have fallen from atop our walls of mental and emotional health?This book - part textbook, part autobiography, and part industry, academic, & professional expose’ - tells of psychology's ongoing struggles to piece us back together after our great falls. Dr. Miller needs all these genres to tell his complex story of the history & practice of abnormal psychology, & of the human condition it attempts to understand. But this book is much more than its mix of genres. The author of this book had to have a rare blend of skill & experience --- someone with the informed perspective of an academician, combined with a wealth of clinical experience; someone with the intellectual skills of a philosopher, combined with a wealth of self-knowledge.Dr. Miller possesses this rare blend, and he has written a book deserving of the broadest possible audience. He places the discipline of abnormal psychology in the context of the human condition, where our behaviors are threaded deep into the rich fabric of our families, our cultures, our bodies, and our lived experiences. He shows us how science has guided us to a better understanding of this human condition, but he also gives us an alarming critique of today’s medical approach to “diseases of the brain,” one that is cut adrift from this rich fabric, and driven by the power of labeling patients and the profits of dispensing pills.So, what is Dr. Miller’s answer: Can our Kings, armed with the horses of modern science and medicine, piece back together those of us who have taken a great fall? He warns us of the reductionist dangers of categories and chromosomes, but gives us hope through his many case studies that, yes, although maybe a bit bruised, Humpty Dumpty can rise again.

Inspiration! We need more text books like this in the world!

I think this is a much needed book, but at times it goes too far. Perhaps that's what we need, though, to spark a discussion. Sometimes Miller makes claims without citations, and at other times he seems to be cherry-picking studies based on his own agenda. I am willing to look past much of that because what he brings up is truly important, but I think his arguments would be stronger if he had more research to back up his more severe allegations. However, he also makes a point that research itself cannot always answer our questions, so I guess he sorta covered all his bases in that regard.

Textbook was delivered as expected

I was really looking forward to this book as a companion text to the other text book for my undergrad Abnormal Psychology course. It was within the first couple of pages of chapter 2 that the authors sweeping generalizations based on limited facts and data appeared. Multiple times in throughtout the book he makes claims, but when you investigate the citation the claims don't match the content of the publication. His bias is obvious and palpable, doing nothing more than to argue against his validity as an educator and author. A quick Google search on the authors of some of the more questionable statistics in this book will reveal their agendas as well. It's not good l.I have never not had a text book I loved. I collect them all and annotate them lovingly. This one will be burned. I'm not even going to donate it as I believe it contains theories that could be harmful to someone either struggling with a mental illness or who is working towards becoming a therapist or psychologist. Unless you need to purchase this book for a course (and if you do, consider yourself warned), I recommend you avoid it at all costs.

The book was wordy, but had good case studies.

I bought for an Abnormal Psych class and found it a fascinating (such as the author's personal life history), yet sometimes uncomfortable, read. Dr. Miller gives great insights into the various theories of mental treatment and how the mental health community differs widely in their beliefs and practices. His writing style is a little confusing to follow, structurally. I have read many, many books and cannot remember going back and rereading sentences so many times, to try and capture the essence of the author's intent. Many of the case study examples in this book feel downright sexist. They are primarily men, downtrodden by evil woman, with two examples that were so similar I began to question the ulterior motives of their being examples. Also, one of the most ridiculous case studies involves a man who is essentially rescued from a psych hospital, by his devoted, kind, and persistent wife, who begins years of intense analytical talk therapy, and comes out, on the other side, "cured" - a ridiculously brilliant and renowned professor. The therapist introduces him to pornography, the patient eventually has an affair during his wife's breast cancer treatments, she (I suppose in desperation?) seeks treatment from the same therapist. Um, is this bizarre conflict of interest suppose to inspire mental health practitioners or breast cancer survivors? Another case study involves a young, kindergarten aged girl who's inattentive parents were freaked out that she would not do well in school, and paid a play therapist thousands of dollars to ascertain what was troubling her, because they were apparently unable to spend quality time to discover the big answers themselves. So, I found the book very interesting in parts, painful in others, mildly sexist and rife with over-the-top case studies that were almost unrelatable.