Experiences of Schizophrenia: An Integration of the Personal, Scientific, and Therapeutic [Hardcover]

Michael Robbins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0898629977 | ISBN-13: 978-0898629972 | Publication Date: July 30, 1993 | Edition: 1

In this important new volume, Michael Robbins presents an explication of schizophrenia unique in both its breadth and depth. His work renders this mysterious condition much more comprehensible, and offers both theoreticians and clinicians of different scientific orientations new possibilities for treatment and interdisciplinary collaboration. The book interweaves an explication of the nature and treatment of schizophrenia, drawn from interlocking perspectives including organic, psychological, interpersonal, familial, and socio-cultural, with five of the most detailed case reports of treatment to be found in the literature. This volume is aimed at psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, clinical psychologists, and social workers working with persons with schizophrenia and other severe pathologies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In a psychiatric era in which biological reductionism runs rampant, this impressive new volume by Michael Robbins demands attention. With erudition, grace, and sophistication, he reminds us that persons with schizophrenia live out their lives in an internal psychological world that cries out for understanding. Although a psychoanalyst, the author avoids the trap of privileging psychology over biology. With an extraordinary command of the literature and superb scholarship, he compellingly demonstrates the importance of thinking pluralistically about the treatment of schizophrenia. Robbins is one of a handful of clinicians who has devoted his professional career to the intensive psychotherapeutic treatment of severely disturbed patients. This book, the crowning achievement of his life's work, should be read and re-read by all clinicians who work with psychotically disturbed patients." --Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., Medical Director, C.F.Menninger Memorial Hospital

"In this very important and timely work, Michael Robbins offers us the harvest of a long, dedicated, and unusual career in the psychoanalytic treatment of schizophrenic patients. He candidly offers his failures and credibly presents his successes and shows his unusual gift for integrating a psychoanalytic model of understanding and treatment with neurobiological, social, and psychological perspectives. His work constitutes a clarion call to revive interest in an all but lost focus of treatment, and he offers his long, hard-won experience to support his message." --James Grotstein, M.D.

"Dr. Robbins documents his extraordinary experience in this therapeutic realm with engrossing narrative, gripping candor, and eloquent scholarly perspective. The data is timeless and provides an uncommon text for personal or group study in the assessment of psychotherapy's role in the long-term treatment of schizophrenia." --Sheldon Roth, M.D., Harvard Medical School

"At long last, we have a book integrating the perspectives of every relevant discipline about the conundrum of schizophrenia! Michael Robbins writes with passion and clarity; EXPERIENCES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA is destined to be the standard reference of this decade for clinicians ready to do reparative work with patients who suffer from this syndrome. In addition to splendid case reports illustrating a variety of outcomes, Robbins offers a persuasive clinical theory explicating the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, including biological, psychological, and familial determinants. This is essential reading for those of us concerned with developing a comprehensive theory of mental functions." --John E. Gedo, M.D.

About the Author

Michael Robbins, M.D., is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and is a psychoanalyst affiliated with the Boston Psychoanalytic Society. He has applied his psychoanalytic knowledge to the understanding and treatment of seriously disturbed persons, both in an office setting and at McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, where he is currently an Attending Psychiatrist. There he has also been in charge of treatment wards, was Director of Admissions, and has done much teaching and consulting. Dr. Robbins has published extensively in the psychoanalytic literature on the theory and treatment of seriously disturbed persons and on related issues of infant and child development. In 1983, he was awarded the Felix and Helene Deutsch Prize by the Boston Psychoanalytic Society for his paper, "Toward a New Mind Model for the Primitive Personalities."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 511 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (July 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898629977
• ISBN-13: 978-0898629972
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,506,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My psychoanalytic career has led to the study of some of the unusual and extraordinary ways in which the human mind works. In addition to my clinical work I have been interested in the development of mind in infancy and childhood, the creative process, the relationship of culture and personality, and linguistics. In my writings I have attempted to synthesize this knowledge and to make a comprehensive model of mind.

For many years I was on the faculties of the Harvard and UCSF medical schools and the staff of McLean Hospital. Currently I live and practice in Amherst, Massachusetts.