Customer Reviews

Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers and Providers

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I come from a large family, a house with a lot of love. So when not just one--but two--of my siblings developed major mental illness, I struggled for years to understand them. Then several years ago I read this book and cried tears of recognition. At last, I finally understood things from the point of view of my brothers. Soon I had everyone in my family reading this book and truly it opened many eyes. "Surviving Schizophrenia" explodes many common myths about mental illness but more importantly it shows families and loved ones how to cope. I now understand that it is only natural to have "me too" fears about mental illness but most of these fears are groundless. Likewise many parents needlessly blame themselves, wondering what they did wrong. "Surviving Schizophrenia" was a Godsend, helping me to realize that mental illness often strikes the most gifted, talented individuals. And far from "poor parenting," families of the mentally ill often develop extraordinary coping skills, such that they are more "together" than families untouched by mental illness. What's more, this book gave me greater confidence to talk about this subject without feeling the least bit of stigma. And confidence to live my life fully, without fear of being thought an "oddball," either because of my brothers or my chosen profession. Plus the resources are excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone who is even remotely interested in this topic.

A person I know who has schizophrenia told me that this book was the best description of the disease he had ever seen. Certainly I found it to be the most lucid and comprehensible to someone who has not experienced the disease. In addition, Dr. Torrey's caustic description of our hodgepodge of policies toward the severely mentally ill should be required reading for policy-makers everywhere, since -- as Dr. Torrey shows -- schizophrenia ends up affecting everyone, not just those who suffer directly from it. (We could probably wipe out the national debt if we could recover just the lost value of economic activity by family members, police, jail and prison employees, courts, and others diverted from their other tasks to deal, inadequately in many cases, with the disease's effects.) In this new edition, he has enlarged and updated the coverage of the disease's symptoms, its treatments, and their adverse effects; he has also expanded considerably the section on advocacy and added a few more of his incisive and entertaining reviews of other books on the subject. Buy several copies and send the extras to your elected officials: we can all benefit from substituting good science, good sense and compassion for what is all too typically done now.

My son is alive and thriving today largely because of Dr. E. Fuller Torrey's books and activities on behalf of the severely mentally ill.

Six years ago, Dr. Torrey's third edition of Surviving Schizophrenia was the first book I read on the subject. Our family was in crisis after my oldest son had his first psychotic break. Dr. Torrey's practical, sound, humane advice was godsent information. I had read Bateson and Satir years before in grad school. Based on their writings, I felt responsible and guilty that my son developed schizophrenia. Dr. Torrey's book allowed me to move beyond misplaced guilt with it's clarity of thought on an illness beset by flakey books and ideas. His practical advice guided us in selecting a multidisciplinary team to work with our son who is doing well even though he requires occasional hospitalization. Dr. Torrey's endnotes guided us into a wide field of research that broadened our understanding. I have since read extensively on the subject: neurology, genetics, and psychiatric texts; legal and medical journals; history; etc. I spend two days a month at the UC Davis Medical School's library researching psychosocial and cognitive-behavioral treatments. I also advocate for sane public policies that are directed toward the severely mentally ill. You cannot beat this book's wise counsel. In one place, you can find information on almost every aspect of the illness. As broadly read in the field as I am, I discovered new and exciting developments in Dr. Torrey's latest edition. This is the first book that I would give anyone who needs to understand schizophrenia. For families, consumers, and providers, Surviving Schizophrenia is the bible on almost every aspect of the disorder. Buy copies for yourself, parents, children, friends, teachers, clergy, ....

Dr. E. Fuller Torrey is a writer like no other. His style is comprehensive, his ideas well developed, and his arguments clear. I've continued to read Dr. Torrey's studies, and each has been presented in the same way.

The nature v. nurture debate will forever rage on, and some people are set Freudians (as those before me) and won't try to understand a different argument. This book isn't for those people, people who've studied it and work with it in theory. This book is for the common consumer, family, or sufferer of schizophrenia. The common man who doesn't want a lot of psychobabble to understand what's going on in his mind or around him.

Dr. Torrey has devoted his life to the study of schizophrenia, and the public has devoted its trust to Dr. Torrey.

I have found this book to be essential in my work with persons diagnosed with schizophrenia. Written in a highly readable manner, this book shouts for the reform of a mental health system that more often than not ignores the individuals stricken with this disorder, while at the same time educating the reader about the illness, the biological bases for etiology, current treatments, and the services essential for not just the survival but the flourishing of persons with schizophrenia. Every practitioner who works with this population should have a copy of this book on their shelf.

The difficulty with a lot of academic work is that it doesn't get to the root of the problem of living with a disease. This book has a wealth of critical information, not just about the medical developments and scientific understanding of mental illness, not just schitzophrenia, but touches on many different organic, chemical imbalances in the brain. More importantly, it talks about the weaknesses in the U.S. medical and welfare systems that present more difficult challenges for people who have physical or chemical imperfects in the body's most critical organ. It presents possible solutions to the difficulties of getting a solid diagnosis and correct treatment.
This is a great book for anyone interested in how the body and brain works. It is written in remarkably simple language, but covers everything from scientific explanations, research and development to social and political obstacles.
This should be a university text book for people studying psychology or psychiatry. If it were, the patients might receive better treatment.

I am a mother of a schizophrenic. Reading this book helped our family understand what was going on. We learned what was 'normal' behavior, what we could expect in the future, and how to lessen the stress this illiness created in our lives. I wish it was updated to include the wonderful results that some of the newest medicines can achieve. I need a new copy; I loaned out the other one to a nurse and never got it back!

For nearly twenty-five years I have provided care to patients afflicted with major mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Unfortunately, in an ever expanding sea of marketing hype into the health care landscape the consumer of major mental illness service provision is left without a compass. Dr. Torrey's work is that veritable compass, however. This work is a must read for patients and their family members -- and a definite mandatory read for psychiatrists in training who today learn more about economic survival than the effective clinical management of severe psychopathology. Simple, clearly written and extremely informative, this book should serve as a template for all inspiring medical writers/practitioners who's primary mission is the maximum well being of patients. Bravo Dr. Torrey!

Jeffrey J. Drury, RN,MSN

This book has a little bit of everything... from history of schizophrenia to progresses in modern treatment. But for someone who wanted a greater insight into how I can better help a schizophrenic, it wasn't very helpful. For example, this book barely touches on how to get those afflicted with schizophrenia to take medication when they deny their illness and refuse their medication. How do you get them to see a doctor when they don't want to? How often should you go to the doctor? Also, how do you best communicate with schizophenics - do you tell them that the voices in their head and the evil man following them aren't real? When they insist they have telepathic powers, do I disagree and explain why it isn't so, shrug it off, or just indulge them? If they don't want to talk about it or deny they have schizophrenia, should I bring it up? How do you help those who tried to commit suicide and failed - should I ask why they did it? Is it safe to bring it up when they seem to have forgotten about the incident? Also, Dr. Torrey, at times, seemed more interested in making the book entertaining than being sensitive to this disease (such as using inappropriate punctuation marks or jumping to conclusions without explaining the factual basis). He also doesn't explain certain terms - such as insight psychotherapy (he explains why it's bad but I read the entire passage 3x but no explanation of what insight psychotherapy is). With the rave reviews, I expected more from this book. If anyone is aware of a book that addresses my questions above (and answers the question of how family members can help and better communicate with schizophrenics other than generically be "supportive", which is a given...), please let me know. I would appreciate a good recommendation.

Torrey is so profoundly accurate in his writings on schizophrenia and manic depression that one can safely ignore authors who ridicule or reject his arguments. He's that good.