Under Observation: Life Inside the McLean Psychiatric Hospital [Paperback]

Lisa Berger (Author), Alexander Vuckovic (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1995

Through the stories of six patients, this volume chronicles the work of doctors and staff at McLean Hospital, a leading psychiatric hospital outside of Boston. By combining these stories with information about mental illness, psychiatric research, treatment theory, and government and insurance company regulations, the authors draw a picture of life at a psychatric institution.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Berger (We Heard the Angels of Madness, LJ 4/1/91) and psychiatrist Vuckovic describe life at one unit of McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility near Boston, during a typical two-week period. Since only the sickest patients are given inpatient treatment, crisis management is the style in mental hospitals today. Doctors must achieve quick results through psychopharmacology, stabilizing patients enough to allow them to benefit from outpatient care. Although each chapter focuses on an individual patient, allowing the reader some familiarity, the stories are told from the psychiatrist's and his staff's points of view, relating the frustrations and successes they meet each day. Separate chapters describe the study of mental illness and the treatment that is carried on within the research arm of the hospital. Recommended for both lay readers and professionals.
--Marguerite Mroz, Baltimore Cty. P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

McLean Hospital is a 180-year-old private institution in Belmont, Massachusetts, and a teaching hospital for Harvard. Medical writer Berger became interested in it through chronicling the experiences of a manic-depressive nephew. With McLean psychopharmacologist Vuckovic, she shows that many of the hospital's problems and activities exemplify national trends. The powers and regulations of both government agencies and insurance companies weigh heavily on it. McLean's patient census has declined by a third during the past five years, and the average length of a patient's stay has fallen from 81 to 13 days. By alternating between group discussions and individual case histories in the text, Berger and Vuckovic also explain different psychiatric illnesses and approaches to them and the relationships among psychiatrists, nurses, and patients, and they take a close look at McLean's research activities, particularly Francine Benes' work with GABA, a neurotransmitter that slows down electrical impulses passing from one nerve ending to another. William Beatty --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (October 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140251472
• ISBN-13: 978-0140251470
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1 x 5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If your into mental health, August 8, 2007

By 

Mickey Mouse "Mel" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under Observation: Life Inside a Psychiatric Hospital (Hardcover)

This is a book that I find hard to put down. Although the cases are tweeked for privacy reasons, it is different from the mental health setting in today's society. This book is not for clinical purposes, but to get an understanding of mental health at McLean psychiatric hospital.