This important book, written by a psychiatrist-historian, traces the genesis of the descriptive categories of psychopathology and examines their interaction with the psychological and philosophical context within which they arose. The author explores particularly the language and ideas that have characterized descriptive psychopathology from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. He presents a masterful survey of the history of the main psychiatric symptoms, from the metaphysics of classical antiquity to the operational criteria of today. Tracing the evolution of concepts such as memory, consciousness, will and personality, and of symptoms ranging from catalepsy and aboulia to anxiety and self-harm, this book provides fascinating insights into the subjective nature of mental illness, and into the ideas of British, Continental and American authorities who have clarified and defined it.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"German Berrios's history of descriptive psychopathology, a tour de force of multilingual erudition, surveys the sources, provides a perceptive analysis and offers some broad reflections on the Herculean enterprise of mapping a sea of troubles...he has put us deeply in his debt with a remarkable account of the mappings of the mind through a study that transcends the private technicalities of psychiatry to shed light on the changing representations of the Western psyche itself." Roy Porter, Nature
"...fascinating book on the history of mental symptoms....A very useful, easily read, and coherent book for graduate students and professionals in psychopathology or mental illness studies." Choice
"German Berrios's The History of Mental Symptoms: Descriptive Psychopathology Since the Nineteenth Century is a brilliant tour de force....Berrios has gone a long way in filling this gap with a major work that speaks not only to historians but also to mental health practitioners and researchers." Joel Braslow, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
"...fascinating book on the history of mental symptoms....A very useful, easily read, and coherent book for graduate students and professionals in psychopathology or mental illness studies." Choice
"German Berrios's The History of Mental Symptoms: Descriptive Psychopathology Since the Nineteenth Century is a brilliant tour de force....Berrios has gone a long way in filling this gap with a major work that speaks not only to historians but also to mental health practitioners and researchers." Joel Braslow, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
Book Description
Tracing the evolution of memory, consciousness, will and personality, and of symptoms ranging from catalepsy and aboulia to anxiety and self-harm, this book provides fascinating insights into the subjective nature of mental illness, as well as the ideas of those who have clarified and defined it.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensable to the psychopathologist,
By
This review is from: The History of Mental Symptoms: Descriptive Psychopathology since the Nineteenth Century (Paperback)
This is simply the best book of its kind. It stands on my shelf next to Kraepelin, Bleuler, Roy Porter, and Macalpine & Hunter, but gets more use than all of these combined.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
First impressions,
By Hubert SteelerFan (Pittsburgh PA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The History of Mental Symptoms: Descriptive Psychopathology since the Nineteenth Century (Paperback)
An excellent and densely layered book dealing with psychopathology, an art all too often undervalued these days, where managed care does not understand nor care about the intricacies of the human mind but rather demands blunt and brutish statements of 'persuasion' to get insurance coverage.BTW I was VERY disappointent to find that this book is in PAPERBACK, while costing a chunck of money. That's why I gave it 4 stars only.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excelente book, every psychiatry should read it.,
By Henrique Alvarenga (alvareng@gold.com.br) (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The History of Mental Symptoms: Descriptive Psychopathology since the Nineteenth Century (Paperback)
This excelent book covers with outstanding charm and precision the origins and transformations of the psychiatric terms, from de nineteenth century to the present days.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
That psychopathological understanding and creativity are enhanced by knowledge of history was well understood by nineteenth century alienists. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ganglionar system, vesanic dementias, term pseudohallucination, delusional stupor, melancholia with stupor, anxious melancholia, confusion mentale primitive, folie avec conscience, psychical hallucinations, melancholic stupor, melancholia attonita, nineteenth century alienists, unilateral hallucinations, organic delirium, folie lucide, fait primordial, impulsive insanity, intellectualistic view, nihilistic delusions, dementia senilis, descriptive psychopathology, folie raisonnante, des hallucinations, acute dementia, unitary psychosis Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Moreau de Tours, Maine de Biran, Brierre de Boismont, First World War, Hughlings Jackson, John Locke, Legrand du Saulle, Charles Bonnet, Great Britain, Jules Falret, Pierre Janet, Alexander Bain, Destutt de Tracy, Dugald Stewart, Kurt Schneider, Oxford English Dictionary, Thomas Reid, David Hartley, Jules Cotard, Victor Cousin, William James, Cabaleiro Goas, Ferrater Mora, Great War, Karl Jaspers New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
That psychopathological understanding and creativity are enhanced by knowledge of history was well understood by nineteenth century alienists. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ganglionar system, vesanic dementias, term pseudohallucination, delusional stupor, melancholia with stupor, anxious melancholia, confusion mentale primitive, folie avec conscience, psychical hallucinations, melancholic stupor, melancholia attonita, nineteenth century alienists, unilateral hallucinations, organic delirium, folie lucide, fait primordial, impulsive insanity, intellectualistic view, nihilistic delusions, dementia senilis, descriptive psychopathology, folie raisonnante, des hallucinations, acute dementia, unitary psychosis Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Moreau de Tours, Maine de Biran, Brierre de Boismont, First World War, Hughlings Jackson, John Locke, Legrand du Saulle, Charles Bonnet, Great Britain, Jules Falret, Pierre Janet, Alexander Bain, Destutt de Tracy, Dugald Stewart, Kurt Schneider, Oxford English Dictionary, Thomas Reid, David Hartley, Jules Cotard, Victor Cousin, William James, Cabaleiro Goas, Ferrater Mora, Great War, Karl Jaspers New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 44
books:
See all 44 books this book cites
16
books
cite this book:
See all 16 books citing this book
- Cumulative Subject Index (Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Vol. 44) (43 Volumes) by Pierre J. Vinken in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (Clarendon Edition of the Works of John Locke) by John Locke in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Oxford English Dictionary Additions: 3 Volume Set by Oxford University Press in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The art of memory as it dependeth upon places and ideas (The English experience, its record in early printed books published in facsimile) by John Willis in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology by James Mark Baldwin in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 44 books this book cites
- The Mental Health Desk Reference: Visual Guides and More for Learning to Use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (Dsm-Iv-Tr (Haworth Social Work Practice,) by Carlton Munson on page 39, and Back Matter
- Atypical Antipsychotics (Medical Psychiatry Series) by John C. Csernansky on page 148
- Homosexual Desire in Revolutionary Russia: The Regulation of Sexual and Gender Dissent by Dan Healey in Back Matter
- The Social Nature of Mental Illness by Dr. Leonard Bowers in Back Matter
- Making the Body Beautiful by Sander L. Gilman in Back Matter
See all 16 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
