Switching Time: A Doctor's Harrowing Story of Treating a Woman with 17 Personalities


Richard Baer - 2007
    Odder still, she reveals that she’s suffering from a persistent memory problem. Routinely, she “loses” parts of her day, finding herself in places she doesn’t remember going to or being told about conversations she doesn’t remember having. Her problems are so pervasive that she often feels like an impersonator in her own life; she doesn’t recognize the people who call themselves her friends, and she can’t even remember being intimate with her own husband. Baer recognizes that Karen is on the verge of suicide and, while trying various medications to keep her alive, attempts to discover the root cause of her strange complaints. It’s the work of months, and then years, to gain Karen’s trust and learn the true extent of the trauma buried in her past. What she eventually reveals is nearly beyond belief, a narrative of a childhood spent grappling with unimaginable horror. How has Karen survived with even a tenuous grasp on sanity?Then Baer receives an envelope in the mail. It’s marked with Karen’s return address but contains a letter from a little girl who writes that she’s seven years old and lives inside of Karen. Soon Baer receives letters from others claiming to be parts of Karen. Under hypnosis, these alternate Karen personalities reveal themselves in shocking variety and with undeniable traits—both physical and psychological. One “alter” is a young boy filled with frightening aggression; another an adult male who considers himself Karen’s protector; and a third a sassy flirt who seeks dominance over the others. It’s only by compartmentalizing her pain, guilt, and fear in this fashion—by “switching time” with alternate selves as the situation warrants—that Karen has been able to function since childhood.Realizing that his patient represents an extreme case of multiple personality disorder, Baer faces the daunting task of creating a therapy that will make Karen whole again. Somehow, in fact, he must gain the trust of each of Karen’s seventeen “alters” and convince them of the necessity of their own annihilation.As powerful as Sybil or The Three Faces of Eve, Switching Time is the first complete account of such therapy to be told from the perspective of the treating physician, a stunningly devoted healer who worked selflessly for decades so that Karen could one day live as a single human being.From the Hardcover edition.

In the Mind Fields: Exploring the New Science of Neuropsychoanalysis


Casey Schwartz - 2015
    . . Everywhere, there were hucksters and geniuses, all trying to colonize the new world of the brain.”   “I’d never been a science person,” Casey Schwartz declares at the beginning of her far-reaching quest to understand how we define ourselves. Nevertheless, in her early twenties, she was drawn to the possibilities and insights emerging on the frontiers of brain research. Over the next decade she set out to meet the neuroscientists and psychoanalysts engaged with such questions as, How do we perceive the world, make decisions, or remember our childhoods? Are we using the brain? Or the mind? To what extent is it both?   Schwartz discovered that neuroscience and psychoanalysis are engaged in a conflict almost as old as the disciplines themselves. Many neuroscientists, if they think about psychoanalysis at all, view it as outdated, arbitrary, and subjective, while many psychoanalysts decry neuroscience as lacking the true texture of human experience. With passion and humor, Schwartz explores the surprising efforts to find common ground. Beginning among the tweedy Freudians of North London and proceeding to laboratories, consulting rooms, and hospital bedsides around the world, Schwartz introduces a cast of pioneering characters, from Mark Solms, a South African neuropsychoanalyst with an expertise in dreams, to David Silvers, a psychoanalyst practicing in New York, to Harry, a man who has lost his use of language in the wake of a stroke but who nevertheless benefits from Silvers’s analytic technique. In the Mind Fields is a riveting view of the convictions, obsessions, and struggles of those who dedicate themselves to the effort to understand the mysteries of inner life.From the Hardcover edition.

The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life


Joseph E. LeDoux - 1996
    The Emotional Brain investigates the origins of human emotions and explains that many exist as part of complex neural systems that evolved to enable us to survive.

The Brain's Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity


Norman Doidge - 2015
    His revolutionary new book shows, for the first time, how the amazing process of neuroplastic healing really works. It describes natural, non-invasive avenues into the brain provided by the forms of energy around us—light, sound, vibration, movement—which pass through our senses and our bodies to awaken the brain’s own healing capacities without producing unpleasant side effects. Doidge explores cases where patients alleviated years of chronic pain or recovered from debilitating strokes or accidents; children on the autistic spectrum or with learning disorders normalizing; symptoms of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and cerebral palsy radically improved, and other near-miracle recoveries. And we learn how to vastly reduce the risk of dementia with simple approaches anyone can use. For centuries it was believed that the brain’s complexity prevented recovery from damage or disease. The Brain’s Way of Healing shows that this very sophistication is the source of a unique kind of healing. As he did so lucidly in The Brain That Changes Itself, Doidge uses stories to present cutting-edge science with practical real-world applications, and principles that everyone can apply to improve their brain’s performance and health.

Prescott, Harley, Klein's Microbiology


Joanne Willey - 2007
    Because of this balance, the Seventh Edition of Microbiology is appropriate for microbiology majors and mixed majors courses. The new authors have focused on readability, artwork, and the integration of several key themes (including evolution, ecology and diversity) throughout the text, making an already superior text even better.

The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness


Lori Schiller - 1994
    Six years later she made her first suicide attempt, then wandered the streets of New York City dressed in ragged clothes, tormenting voices crying out in her mind. Lori Schiller had entered the horrifying world of full-blown schizophrenia. She began an ordeal of hospitalizations, halfway houses, relapses, more suicide attempts, and constant, withering despair. But against all odds, she survived. Now in this personal account, she tells how she did it, taking us not only into her own shattered world, but drawing on the words of the doctors who treated her and family members who suffered with her.In this new edition, Lori Schiller recounts the dramatic years following the original publication -- a period involving addiction, relapse, and ultimately, love and recovery.Moving, harrowing, and ultimately uplifting, THE QUIET ROOM is a classic testimony to the ravages of mental illness and the power of perseverance and courage.

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain


David Eagleman - 2011
    If the conscious mind—the part you consider you—accounts for only a tiny fraction of the brain’s function, what is all the rest doing? This is the question that David Eagleman—renowned neuroscientist and acclaimed author of Sum—answers in a book as accessible and entertaining as it is deeply informed by startling, up-to-the-minute research.

Career Paths in Psychology: Where Your Degree Can Take You


Robert J. Sternberg - 1997
    In this comprehensive anthology, authors selected for their distinction in their chosen careers offer their professional - and personal - perspectives on 19 different graduate-level careers in psychology. Few fields of study offer more career opportunities than does psychology, and readers will find thoughtful discussions, leavened with tips and insights gained from personal experience, on the full range, including (to name only a few) academia, clinical psychology, health and school psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and government service. Each chapter discusses the nature of the career, its advantages and disadvantages, how to prepare for it, typical activities, ranges of financial compensation, opportunities for employment, and the personal attributes needed for success in the career. realities, challenges, and rewards of each career that the lab or lecture hall rarely provides. Reprinted eight times since the publication of the first edition in 1997, Career Paths in Psychology is recognized as the go-to sourcebook for anyone seeking a candid portrait of different careers in this ever-changing field. The second edition has been expanded (discussions of five new careers added) and updated to reflect current trends and changes in the field.

Psychnotes: Clinical Pocket Guide


Darlene D. Pedersen - 2005
    The 4th Edition of this AJN Book-of-the-Year award winner has been thoroughly updated to deliver even more resources and tools, plus new DSM-5 content. "Psych Notes is packed with all of the essential content necessary to REVIEW (you should also have expanded knowledge of this content) and pass the ANCC PMHNP certification exam. You will be astonished with the depth and breadth of information contained in this easy to read and use (spiral bound) book. Be sure to access the online information that accompanies this book, too as it contains a grid comparing the changes from DSM-IV and DSM-5!" --Sandra Hannon-Engel, Ph.D., RN, CNS, PMHNP, Assistant Professor, William F. Connell School of Nursing, Boston College, Boston, MA. "It's a pretty good book for both nursing students and practicing RN's. No matter what specialty you're in you'll come across patients that are psychologically unstable and this book gives you a quick and easy reference to your needs. Everything is laid out in simple form and focuses on the most pertinent topics in psych." - Jim Astapan, Amazon.com "Very good source for fast references." - Ileana, Amazon.com "An amazingly complete collection of all that pertains to psych/mental health care. An easy to use resource and a wonderful review." - Camille Grosso, Ph.D., R.N.

The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain: A 24 Hour Journal of What's Happening in Your Brain as You Sleep, Dream, Wake Up, Eat, Work, Play, Fight, Love, Worry, Compete, Hope, Make Important Decisions, Age and Change


Judith Horstman - 2009
    Drawing on the treasure trove of information from Scientific American and Scientific American Mind magazines as well as original material written specifically for this book, Judith Horstman weaves together a compelling description of your brain at work and at play. The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain reveals what's going on in there while you sleep and dream, how your brain makes memories and forms addictions and why we sometimes make bad decisions. The book also offers intriguing information about your emotional brain, and what's happening when you're feeling love, lust, fear and anxiety--and how sex, drugs and rock and roll tickle the same spots.Based on the latest scientific information, the book explores your brain's remarkable ability to change, how your brain can make new neurons even into old age and why multitasking may be bad for you.Your brain is uniquely yours - but research is showing many of its day-to-day cycles are universal. This book gives you a look inside your brain and some insights into why you may feel and act as you do.The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain is written in the entertaining, informative and easy-to-understand style that fans of Scientific American and Scientific American Mind magazine have come to expect.

Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Night Shift at the Psych E.R.


Julie Holland - 2009
    Recounts stories from her vast case files that are alternately terrifying, tragically comic, and profoundly moving, all while she deals with her best friend and fellow doctor's fight with cancer.

Abnormal Psychology


Susan Nolen-Hoeksema - 1997
    Capturing the excitement of major advances in biological and psychosocial research and treatment alternatives, Abnormal Psychology imparts a true enthusiasm for and appreciation of scientific investigation. The author�s scientific and caring approach, combined with strong study tools, has won accolades from instructors and students alike. The fourth edition reflects greater emphasis on integrated approaches to abnormal psychology, a constant drive to make biological information clear to students, and a stronger focus on empirical research and diversity..

Successful Aging: A Neuroscientist Explores the Power and Potential of Our Lives


Daniel J. Levitin - 2020
    Pink, author of When and Drive SUCCESSFUL AGING delivers powerful insights: - Debunking the myth that memory always declines with age - Confirming that health span--not life span--is what matters - Proving that sixty-plus years is a unique and newly recognized developmental stage - Recommending that people look forward to joy, as reminiscing doesn't promote health Levitin looks at the science behind what we all can learn from those who age joyously, as well as how to adapt our culture to take full advantage of older people's wisdom and experience. Throughout his exploration of what aging really means, using research from developmental neuroscience and the psychology of individual differences, Levitin reveals resilience strategies and practical, cognitive enhancing tricks everyone should do as they age.Successful Aging inspires a powerful new approach to how readers think about our final decades, and it will revolutionize the way we plan for old age as individuals, family members, and citizens within a society where the average life expectancy continues to rise.

Why Suicide?: Answers to 200 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions about Suicide, Attempted Suicide, and Assisted Suicide


Eric Marcus - 1996
    Without moral judgement, this guide answers questions about the complex issue of suicide.

The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep


Guy Leschziner - 2019
    Guy Leschziner's patients, there is no rest for the weary in mind and body. Insomnia, narcolepsy, night terrors, sleep apnea, and sleepwalking are just a sampling of conditions afflicting sufferers who cannot sleep--and their experiences in trying are the stuff of nightmares. Demoniac hallucinations frighten people into paralysis. Restless legs rock both the sleepless and their sleeping partners with unpredictable and uncontrollable kicking. Out-of-sync circadian rhythms confuse the natural body clock's days and nights.Then there are the extreme cases. A woman in a state of deep sleep who gets dressed, unlocks her car, and drives for several miles before returning to bed. The man who has spent decades cleaning out kitchens while "sleep-eating." The teenager prone to the serious, yet unfortunately nicknamed "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome" stuck in a cycle of excessive unconsciousness, binge eating, and uncharacteristic displays of aggression and hyper-sexuality while awake.With compassionate stories of his patients and their conditions, Dr. Leschziner illustrates the neuroscience behind our sleeping minds, revealing the many biological and psychological factors necessary in getting the rest that will not only maintain our physical and mental health, but improve our cognitive abilities and overall happiness.