Lives Interrupted

Based on interviews with individuals who struggle with severe psychic distress, contributors to this edited collection critique conventional pharmaceutical and medicalized treatment and argue for the need to create facilitative spaces in which psychosocial and familial supports are offered as adjuncts to therapy.

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Lives Interrupted: Psychiatric Narratives of Struggle and Resilience provides insight into the everyday experiences of individuals struggling with severe psychic distress during a six-month immersion program at the Fountain House headquarters, a New York-based organization that works to address the effects of serious mental illness. These narratives add complexity and objectivity to the expanding discussion of psychiatric treatment plans. Contributors to this collection argue that narratives are vital to treatment and should not be treated as secondary options to standard diagnosis and treatment practices that rely heavily on pharmaceuticals and often result in short-term revolving-door interventions for complex forms of human suffering.