Commonsense Rebellion: Debunking Psychiatry, Confronting Society : An A to Z Guide to Rehumanizingour Lives - Hardcover

Levine, Bruce E.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826413153 ISBN 13: 9780826413154

Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group, 2001

Synopsis

In recent years the mental health industry has been attacked for the invalidity of its illnesses, the unreliability of its diagnoses, the dangers of its treatments, and its corruption by drug companies. Commonsense Rebellion integrates those critiques and goes further.Nearly 1 in 4 American adults take psychiatric drugs, and Ritalin production has increased 800 percent since 1990. Yet the mental health industry laments the fact that two-thirds of us with diagnosable mental disorders do not seek treatment. This book argues that "institutional mental health's" ever-increasing diseases, disorders, and drugs have diverted us from examining an important rebellion against an increasingly impersonal and coercive "institutional society" which worships speed, power, and technology. This has created fantastic wealth - at least for some - but its disregard for human autonomy, community, and diversity has come with a cost. Depression has reportedly increased tenfold since 1900, and suicide levels for teenage boys have tripled since 1960. Have human genetics and serotonin levels changed that much, or has society?>

About this title

About the Author:

Bruce E. Levine, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in private practice for more than fifteen years, is on the advisory council of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, which fights against the drugs, electroshocks, and other abuses of institutional mental health. He lives in Cincinnati, OH

Review:

"Here is one psychologist who knows the reason America is sick: the institutions and technologies we have created that make modern life meaningless, disjointed, dispiriting, depressing, and joyless. His most unlikely prescription is to recognize the widespread disaffection from them as a rebellion, not a disease, and to encourage a more sensible one. What the hell, it just might work." — Kirkpatrick Sale

"It is always refreshing to find someone who stands at the edge of his profession and dissects its failures with a critical eye, refusing to be deceived by its pretensions. Bruce Levine condemns the cold, technological approach to mental health and, to our benefit, looks for deeper solutions."—Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States

"This is an energizing book, a must read for the general public and professionals. We now have a multi-billion-dollar psycho-pharmaceutical complex pushing unscientific theories, dangerous drugs, and other coercions. Dr. Levine unravels the truth of industrial psychiatry’s connection with other dehumanizing institutions. His straightforward alternatives are rejuvenating."—Peter R. Breggin, M.D., author of Toxic Psychiatry and Your Drug May Be Your Problem

"Well read, thoughtful, and idealistic, Levine wants to humanize science and technology...The book merits attention...and belongs in most libraries in a category bridging social criticism and self-help."
- Library Journal, July 2001

"An entertaining, hard-hitting, and controversial book about contemporary culture...Full of astonishing statistics, the volume covers a wide range of topics: attention deficit disorder, chemical dependency, depression, education, health care, consumerism, the online environment, and more....Providing fascinating material for debate, Levine takes on pharmaceutical companies, the DSM-IV, and other 'institutions.' The emphasis on personal honesty and responsibility makes for a refreshing read that is at times humorous and at times disturbing....Aptly titled, this book is an opinionated wake-up call." —Choice, January 2002

"Refreshing and energizing....of value in reminding us of the need for a spirited sense of change...[and] in scrutinizing the role of psychotropic medication and the pharmaceutical industry."
—Metapsychology Online Book Reviews

"As Censored by Clinical Psychiatry News...What They Don't Want Their Psychiatrists to Hear!"
—MadNation

"Bruce Levine is no ordinary psychologist but a social critic who goes far beyond diagnosing what's wrong with current trends in psychotherapy and psychiatry. . . .Levine's voice is clear, concise, and captivating. . . . the tools or approaches Levine suggests will not only make us feel better but will also ultimately help change the social system. . . . It is full of solid evidence presented in an easy-to-assimilate framework. . . . One gets the feeling while reading Commonsense Rebellion that everything of importance that has ever been written about the mental health system will be found somewhere in this book. . . . The book . . . is more than just common sense. It is expressed wisdom, something, unfortunately, which does not seem common at all." —Ethical Human Sciences and Services

"Once in awhile a book comes along that casts a glaring spotlight on 'truths and facts' we take for granted, illuminating them to such an extent that we are compelled to examine and think about them in entirely new ways. Bruce Levine...has done an incredible job...of ferreting out and figuring out the real reasons for the problems we face in our society, both as individuals and institutions....This book is valuable, possibly life saving, and, if taken to heart, life changing."—Florida Times-Union, September 2, 2001 (Aar/Sbl Program Book)

Title mention in an article by Bruce E. Levine in the Ecologist, October 2007

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum Intl Pub Group
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0826413153
• ISBN 13: 9780826413154
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336