America on Film

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Ian Dowbiggin

"This is the story of one of the most far-reaching human endeavors in history: the quest for mental well-being. From its origins in the eighteenth century to its wide scope in the early twenty-first, this search for emotional health and welfare has cost billions. In the name of mental health, millions around the world have been tranquilized, institutionalized, psycho-analyzed, sterilized, lobotomized and even euthanized. Yet at the dawn of the new millennium, reported rates of depression and anxiety are unprecedentedly high. Drawing on years of field research, Ian Dowbiggin argues that if the quest for emotional well-being has reached a crisis point in the twenty-first century, it is because mass society is enveloped by cultures of therapism and consumerism, which increasingly advocate bureaucratic and managerial approaches to health and welfare"--

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Mary Nethery

In Venice, Italy, in the 1890s, a stray cat draws attention to a coffee shop after inspiring composer Guiseppi Verdi there, and as the feline's fame grows, the shop's owner entertains royalty, the Pope, and many others. Includes historical notes about the real Nini and his visitors.

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Mario Jacoby

Shame manifests itself in many ways. We may have feelings of inferiority, humiliation, shyness or embarrassment. It also makes us fearful of entering into shameful situations. In particular, we are ashamed at our public nakedness. Shame and the Origins of Self-Esteem explores how a lack of self-esteem is the root cause of a susceptibility to shame. Drawing heavily on modern infant research, Mario Jacoby shows how our feelings of self-worth are rooted in our childhood experiences and environment. Shame is also an archetypal phenomenon. We see it in Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden and the Jungian interpretation of the Persona, the 'soul mask'. Discussing these different shame themes, Mario Jacoby illustrates his book with many examples from Jungian practice. Shame and the Origins of Self-Esteem is the first book interpreting shame from a Jungian perspective. It will be of interest to all analysts and psychotherapists, both in practice and training. In addition, it will be helpful reading for all those for whom feelings of shame and lack of self-esteem are a problem.

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Charles E. Rosenberg

Historian of medicine Rosenberg presents an analysis of the current tensions in American medicine. Situating these tensions within their historical and social contexts, Rosenberg investigates the fundamental characteristics of medicine: how we think about disease, how the medical profession thinks about itself and its moral and intellectual responsibilities, and what prospective patients--all of us--expect from medicine and the medical profession. He explores the nature and definition of disease and how ideas of disease causation reflect social values and cultural negotiations. His analyses of alternative medicine and bioethics consider the historically specific ways in which we define and seek to control what is appropriately medical. At a time when clinical care and biomedical research generate as much angst as they offer cures, this volume provides valuable insight into how the practice of medicine has evolved, where it is going, and how lessons from history can improve its prognosis.--From publisher description.