Mental Disorders as a Worldwide Public Health Issue Benedetto Saraceno Magnitude and burden of mental disorders The twentieth century has witnessed significant improvements in somatic health in most countries. A…
Public Attitudes and the Challenge of Stigma Graham Thornicroft Elaine Brohan Aliya Kassam Introduction The starting point for this discussion is the idea of stigma. This term (plural stigmata) was…
The Patient’s Perspective Kay Redfield Jamison Richard Jed Wyatt† Adam Ian Kaplin †Deceased. It is difficult to be a psychiatric patient, but a good doctor can make it less so….
Alzheimer’s Disease HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE Human Longevity Although historic records indicate that older people have always existed, old age was once rare. Before the 20th century, few people lived beyond 50…
Schizophrenia HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE Over 100 years ago, Emil Kraepelin, a German psychiatrist, described the syndrome now called schizophrenia. Bleuler actually coined the term schizophrenia. Kraepelin called it dementia praecox. Kraepelin’s…
Attachment PARENTAL BEHAVIOR The goal of reproduction is successful offspring. Parents want offspring who can survive the rigors of the world and produce their own descendents. Many animals produce offspring…
Sex and the Brain SEXUAL DIMORPHISM Humans are sexually dimorphic (di, “two”; morph, “type”). That is, we come in two styles. How one conceptualizes these differences depends on one’s perspective….
