International Bestseller • "An extraordinarily important book." —Marcia Angell, Harvard Medical School
A deeply fascinating and urgently important critique of the widespread medicalization of normality, by "one of the world's most prominent psychiatrists" (The Atlantic)
Anyone living a full, rich life experiences ups and downs, stresses, disappointments, sorrows, and setbacks. Today, however, millions of people who are really no more than "worried well" are being diagnosed as having a mental disorder and receiving unnecessary treatment. In Saving Normal, Allen Frances, one of the world's most influential psychiatrists, explains why stigmatizing a healthy person as mentally ill leads to unnecessary, harmful medications, the narrowing of horizons, the misallocation of medical resources, and the draining of the budgets of families and the nation. We also shift responsibility for our mental well-being away from our own naturally resilient brains and into the hands of "Big Pharma," who are reaping multi-billion-dollar profits. Frances cautions that the newest edition of the "bible of psychiatry," the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5), is turning our current diagnostic inflation into hyperinflation by converting millions of "normal" people into "mental patients." Saving Normal is a call to all of us to reclaim the full measure of our humanity.

Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt Against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Frances, Allen

Mental Health

Mariner Books

Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life

“Unravel[s] the national psyche that brought our politics to this moment.” — Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
A landmark book, from “one of the world’s most prominent psychiatrists” (The Atlantic): Allen Frances analyzes the nation, viewing the rise of Donald J. Trump as darkly symptomatic of a deeper societal distress that must be understood if we are to move forward. Equally challenging and profound, Twilight of American Sanity “joins a small shelf of essential titles—Arlie Hochschild’s Strangers in Their Own Land is another—that help explain why and how the Trump presidency happened” (Kirkus).
It is comforting to see President Donald Trump as a crazy man, a one-off, an exception—not a reflection on us or our democracy. But in ways I never anticipated, his rise was absolutely predictable and a mirror on our soul. … What does it say about us, that we elected someone so manifestly unfit and unprepared to determine mankind’s future? Trump is a symptom of a world in distress, not its sole cause. Blaming him for all our troubles misses the deeper, underlying societal sickness that made possible his unlikely ascent. Calling Trump crazy allows us to avoid confronting the craziness in our society—if we want to get sane, we must first gain insight about ourselves. Simply put: Trump isn’t crazy, but our society is.—from TWILIGHT OF AMERICAN SANITY
More than three years in the making: the world's leading expert on psychiatric diagnosis, past leader of the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM (“the bible of psychology”), and author of the influential international bestseller on the medicalization of ordinary life, Saving Normal, draws upon his vast experience to deliver a powerful critique of modern American society’s collective slide away from sanity and offers an urgently needed prescription for reclaiming our bearings. Widely cited in recent months as the man who quite literally wrote the diagnostic criteria for narcissism, Allen Frances, M.D., has been at the center of the debate surrounding President Trump’s mental state—quoted in Evan Osnos’s May 2017 New Yorker article (“How Trump Could Get Fired”) and publishing a much-shared opinion letter in the New York Times (“An Eminent Psychiatrist Demurs on Trump’s Mental State”). Frances argues that Trump is "bad, not mad"--and that the real question to wrestle with is how we as a country could have chosen him as our leader. Twilight of American Sanity is an essential work for understanding our national crisis.

Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump

William Morrow

William Morrow Paperbacks

We all have times when we're feeling down, anxious, over the top, or on edge. Or times when we can't sleep, feel spaced out or disconnected from things, can't remember names or faces, can't get over past traumas. Problems like these are often a common and normal part of the aches and pains of everyday life. However, if these problems last long enough, are severe enough, or interfere with work or relationships, it may mean that you or someone you care about has a diagnosable and treatable disorder. Written by the same doctors who led the effort to produce the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) - the reference text used by the majority of mental health professionals - Am I Okay? is a thorough, completely authoritative guide designed to help people identify whether or not they have a psychiatric condition as early as possible. Am I Okay? also includes the following features: * "Twenty Questions to Get You Started": a diagnostic screening questionnaire that covers most known psychiatric problems * Detailed chapters on a range of mental health issues, from Depression, Personality Disorders, and Alcohol and Substance Abuse to Anxiety, Dissociative Experiences, and more * Information about national organizations, support groups, and other sources of help, as well as suggested readings for more information

Am I Okay?: A Layman's Guide to the Psychiatrist's Bible

First, Michael B.

Scribner

This is a clinical guide to treatment selection.

A Dsm-III Casebook of Differential Therapeutics: A Clinical Guide to Treatment Selection

Medical Books

Perry, Samuel

Clarkin, John

Psychology

Brunner-Routledge

Section Contents: Schizophrenia. drug abuse and drug dependence. Personality disorders. Adolescent psychiatry. Psychiatric contributions to medical care. Group psychotherapy.

Psychiatry Update: Apa Annual Review

Hales, Robert E.

Medicine

Amer Psychiatric Pub Inc

Practical handbook for psychiatrists and residents to facilitate the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition. Offers explanations, tips, shortcuts, historical perspective, and clarifications. DNLM: Mental Disorders - diagnosis.

Dsm-IV Guidebook

Pincus, Harold Alan

...compiled by the same experts who developed the DSM-IV... describes why and how the DSM-IV developed as it did, and explains the intricacies of the organization of the DSM diagnostic system.

...gives the clincian a variety of perspectives to help them a make a comprehensive differential diagnosis...uses decision trees, differential diagnosis tables, and a symptom index for problems most commonly seen in everyday practice.

Dsm-IV Handbook of Differential Diagnosis

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Frances, Allen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Frances, Allen

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Frances, Allen. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt Against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life

Saving Normal: An Insider's Revolt against Out-of-Control Psychiatric Diagnosis, DSM-5, Big Pharma, and the Medicalization of Ordinary Life

Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump

Twilight of American Sanity: A Psychiatrist Analyzes the Age of Trump

Am I Okay?: A Layman's Guide to the Psychiatrist's Bible

A Dsm-III Casebook of Differential Therapeutics: A Clinical Guide to Treatment Selection

Psychiatry Update: Apa Annual Review

Dsm-IV Guidebook

Dsm-IV Guidebook

Dsm-IV Handbook of Differential Diagnosis