Treating the Poor

The author, a well known activist, writer & psychiatrist, played a significant role in the community mental health movement of the 60s & 70s. The book describes its antecedents & subsequent destruction against the social, economic & political events of recent American history. As a practitioner of 16 years in a low-income, immigrant community, he tells vivid stories which demonstrate how poverty drives people crazy & how the prevention & control of mental illness requires community organization, pollution control, jobs & housing as much as case finding & treatment. Documented with research & personal experience, the book is also a critique of biological psychiatry with its emphasis on genetic etiologies & reliance on drugs. It warns against privatization, managed care, & the continued medical hegemony of mental health as part of current models of health care "reform." Call or write for information to order: Dymphna Press, Box 44, Belmont, MA 02178. 617-489-2126.Dumont, Matthew P. is the author of 'Treating the Poor' with ISBN 9780963497512 and ISBN 0963497510.