“‘Insanity haunts the human imagination. It fascinates and frightens all at once. Few are immune to its terrors,’ wrote sociologist Andrew Scull in his book Madness in Civilization. ‘It challenges our sense of the very limits of what it is to be human.’ It’s undeniable: There is something profoundly upsetting about a person who does not share our reality, even though science shows us that the mental maps we each create of our own worlds are wholly unique. Our brains interpret our surroundings in highly specific ways—your blue may not be my blue. Yet what we fear is the unpredictability of a mentally ill “other.” This fear emerges from the sneaking realization that, no matter how sane, healthy, or normal we may believe we are, our reality could be distorted, too.”
In the 1970’s a Stanford psychologist, David Rosenhan, set out to show that anyone could get themselves admitted to an asylum by changing just a few of their answers on an evaluation, and to show how they were treated once admitted even if they acted completely “normal”. The results of his study had a broad impact on the world of psychiatry. But as the author looked deeper into his study, she found that not all may have been as it was presented.
This book brings to light questions we should all be asking ourselves about psychiatry. About how patients are diagnosed and treated, and how we should all keep looking for solutions and answers rather than allowing the ones seeming to need treatment to disappear or remain on the outsides of society as other. I really would recommend this book to anyone. It was informative and interesting. It asks the tough questions. I give it 4.5 stars.
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Mental Health and Research Rigor
Cahalan, S. (2019). The great pretender: The undercover mission that changed our understanding of madness. Grand Central Publishing.Susannah Cahalan is an award-winning #1 New York Times bestselling author, journalist, and public speaker.Partly this is a book about Stanford psychologist David Rosenhan and his research, partly this is a book covering a wide range of topics about mental health diagnosis, treatment, and societal perceptions. The story about David Rosenhan is fascinating, especially if you're interested in research methods, protection of human participants, and research ethics. The book would have worked better if Rosenhan's story was told first followed by the other topical chapters. There's a disjointed sense within the topical chapters that could use more weaving and connections.In the 1970s a Stanford psychologist named David Rosenhan along with seven other sane, "normal" and well-adjusted members of society went undercover into asylums around the US to test the legitimacy of psychiatry's labels. Staying inside until they'd "proven" themselves sane, all eight received stunning diagnoses. Rosenhan's study, "On Being Sane in Insane Places" reshaped psychiatry and the treatment of mentally ill. Cahalan ultimately concludes that David Rosenhan exaggerated and fabricated parts of his research and that his research was published in an academic journal. The publication of the article raised questions about diagnoses and treatment that ultimately influenced psychiatry and the treatment of the mentally ill within the United States. Rosenhan's flawed work had an effect on the creation of the DSM and strong influence on the shuttering of psychiatric hospitals and the treatment of the mentally ill. Through her exploration of Rosenhan's story, Cahalan explores facets of mental illness, diagnosis, and treatment including evolution of drug therapy, eugenics, treatment of women, homosexuals and those designated other, and legislation. The variety of topics were interesting and thought provoking.
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