Twelve Cases: A Psychiatrist’s True Stories of Mental Illness and Addiction (and Other Human Predispositions)
Are you curious about the shadowy parts of the human psyche? Join Dr. Daniel Mierlak, a psychiatrist for twenty-five years, on a journey to the stranger corners of human experience. Here you'll meet: Tony, chauffeur to the fabulously rich, who overcomes crippling anxiety only to find himself descend into a homicidal rage following a botched cosmetic procedure. Amanda, hospitalized for mania, who sees a change to her medicine as an assassination attempt, and then stalks her doctor for a year after discharge. James, a schizophrenic hearing voices telling him to kill himself, whose piano playing leads to a shocking secret about his past. Psychiatric treatment is normally a private encounter and often misunderstood. In describing twelve of his most challenging cases, Dr. Mierlak brings you into his sessions, into his patients' lives, and into the world of psychiatry. Get ready for some surprises.
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Community Reviews
An enjoyable easy read in a series of vignettes of various clients, their quirks, and Dr. Mierlak's responses. The cases themselves are not full fledged case studies but rather a small insight into a session and how the situation unfolded. Like therapy short stories. As a therapist I wanted a little more, think Lying on the Couch by Yalom, but I think its like a written graphic novel for a therapist lol, it has substance but its not going much deeper. Writing was well done, and it definitely achieved what it set out to do.
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