Lives Interrupted

Michael O’Loughlinis professor in the College of Education and Health Sciences and the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University.Secil Arac-Orhun, PhD, is licensed clinical psychologist.Montana Queler, PhD, is psychologist and licensed mental health counselor.

• Chapter 1: Thinking psychosocially about psychosis.Chapter 2: Faith: A woman interrupted.Chapter 3: Mary: Surviving “head traumas”.Chapter 4: Jeff: Lost in Translation.Chapter 5: Dylan: Escape Artist.Chapter 6: Terry: Holding on.Chapter 7: Teresa: Looking for Love.Chapter 8: Kyle: A conflicted life.Chapter 9:Courtney: A misrecognized woman.Chapter 10:Eliza: No place to call home.Chapter 11:Sarah: Who am I?Chapter 12: Daniel: Haunted by his past.Chapter 13: Jamie: Seeking comfort.Chapter 14: Jessie: Mr. MisunderstoodChapter 15: Roundtable Meeting of Team Members to discuss the book draftChapter 16: The idea of Fountain House: A place for recovery in the community

O’Loughlin (Adelphi Univ.) here joins forces with several practioner-colleagues to provide considerable insight into the lives of people suffering psychotic disorders (whose condition is termed “severe psychic distress”). Summarizing the findings from a large qualitative research study involving extensive interviews with individuals living at a residential community for persons diagnosed with psychosis, most chapters summarize individual interviews and provide insights into the subjective experience of each individual. What makes these chapters particularly interesting is that the experiences are addressed in all their complexity. The authors explore not only emotional suffering and functional problems but also how individuals try to incorporate their experiences with severe psychic distress into understanding themselves, and how they try to fit into the larger social world. . . the text provides considerable focus on understanding as a means of reducing client feelings of stigmatization and loneliness. . . this book serves as an excellent resource for helping clinicians understand all clients, even those with what are considered the most severe psychiatric diagnoses, who are trying to find their way in the world. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.