E. Fuller Torrey

This open access book attempts to answer the question, “Why are so many severely mentally ill people homeless or incarcerated?” Updated since it’s original 1988 release, this book tracks the history of this question in the United States. The answer begins in 1955, when the United States deinstitutionalized the 559,000 patients who were in state mental hospitals. Today, only 35,000 remain. In 1963, Congress funded President Kennedy’s proposed federally funded Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs), whose main purpose was to provide care for the patients being released from the hospitals. However, most of the CMHCs never did so, but rather became counseling centers for individuals with less serious mental illnesses. The lack of psychiatric aftercare for severely mentally ill individuals resulted in more than 200,000 of them who are homeless and more than 250,000 others who are in jails and prisons. This story also includes little known details such as the role played by conscientious objectors who worked in the state hospitals during WWII; Rosemary Kennedy’s psychosis; the influence of the conservative John Birch society on Presidents Nixon and Reagan; and mental health myths incorrectly attributed to Reagan. Finally, the book discusses what needs to be done to improve the mental illness treatment system. This is an ideal guide for psychiatrists, psychologists, and members of the public who are concerned about homelessness.

This open access book analyzes the evidence linking Toxoplasma gondii to the increasing incidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the United States. Initially establishing that infectious agents are regularly transmitted from animals to humans, lead to human disease, and that infectious agents can cause psychosis, it then examines the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii in detail. Infecting 40 million Americans, Toxoplasma gondii is known to cause congenital infections, eye disease, and encephalitis for individuals who are immunosuppressed. It has also been shown to change the behavior of nonhuman mammals, as well as to alter some personality traits in humans. After discussing the clinical evidence linking Toxoplasma gondii to human psychosis, the book elucidates the epidemiological evidence further supporting this linkage; including the proportional increase in incidence of human psychosis as cats transitioned to domestication over 800 years. Finally, the book assessesthe magnitude of the problem and suggests solutions.Parasites, Pussycats and Psychosis: The Unknown Dangers of Human Toxoplasmosis provides a comprehensive review of the evidence linking human psychosis in the United States to infections of Toxoplasma gondii. It will be of interest to infectious disease specialists, general practitioners, scientists, historians, and cat-lovers.

Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution.Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.

Updated throughout and filled with all the latest research, treatment plans, commonly asked questions and more, the bestselling resource on schizophrenia is back—now in its seventh edition.“E. Fuller Torrey is a brilliant writer. There is no one writing on psychology today whom I would rather read.”— Los Angeles TimesSince its first publication in 1983, Surviving Schizophrenia has become the standard reference book on the disease that has helped thousands of patients, their families, and mental health professionals alike.In clear language, this much-praised and important book describes the nature, causes, symptoms, treatment, and course of schizophrenia, and explores living with it from both the patient’s and the family’s point of view. This new, completely updated seventh edition includes the latest research findings on what causes the illness, as well as information about the newest drugs for treatment, and answers the questions most often asked by families, consumers, and providers.An indispensable guide for those afflicted by schizophrenia as well as those who care for them, Surviving Schizophrenia covers every aspect of the condition and sheds new light on an often-misunderstood illness.

Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a byproduct of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.

E. Fuller Torrey beschreibt die Entwicklung, Ausbreitung und den Einfluss der freudschen Theorie, die besonders in Amerika, aber eigentlich in allen westlichen Gesellschaften mit dem Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts beispiellos Karriere machte. Trotz einiger richtiger Erkenntnisse, die aber nicht unbedingt von Freud selbst stammen, kann jedoch vielen von Freuds zentralen Behauptungen aus wissenschaftlicher und spiritueller Sicht nicht zugestimmt werden. Somit stellen viele der darauf basierenden Formen von Psychotherapie eigentlich einen Betrug dar - eine "freudsche Fehlleistungen" im w rtlichen Sinne. Erg nzend zu den Ausf hrungen in Torreys 1992 erschienenem Original "Freudian Fraud" zeigt das Vorwort zur deutschen Ausgabe, dass ein dem Wesen des Menschen zu Grunde liegendes, subtiles spirituelles System aus berlieferten Texten der indischen Kultur schon lange bekannt ist. Mit Ausnahme der sp ten Werke C. G. Jungs werden die damit verbundenen Erkenntnisse in der westlichen Psychologie und Psychiatrie jedoch nicht in Betracht gezogen. Mit Hilfe einer aktualisierten und bereinigten Form dieses spirituell-psychologischen Wissens ist es heute f r jeden Einzelnen nicht nur m glich zu erkennen, wie sch dlich Freuds Ideen f r unsere Gesellschaften waren und auch heute noch sind. Man erh lt auch das Handwerkszeug, um die aus seinen Theorien resultierenden Stolpersteine zu umgehen.

Humans have lived in close proximity to other animals for thousands of years. Recent scientific studies have even shown that the presence of animals has a positive effect on our physical and mental health. People with pets typically have lower blood pressure, show fewer symptoms of depression, and tend to get more exercise. But there is a darker side to the relationship between animals and humans. Animals are carriers of harmful infectious agents and the source of a myriad of human diseases. In recent years, the emergence of high-profile illnesses such as AIDS, SARS, West Nile virus, and bird flu has drawn much public attention, but as E. Fuller Torrey and Robert H. Yolken reveal, the transfer of deadly microbes from animals to humans is neither a new nor an easily avoided problem. Beginning with the domestication of farm animals nearly 10,000 years ago, Beasts of the Earth traces the ways that human-animal contact has evolved over time. Today, shared living quarters, overlapping ecosystems, and experimental surgical practices where organs or tissues are transplanted from non-humans into humans continue to open new avenues for the transmission of infectious agents. Other changes in human behavior like increased air travel, automated food processing, and threats of bioterrorism are increasing the contagion factor by transporting microbes further distances and to larger populations in virtually no time at all. While the authors urge that a better understanding of past diseases may help us lessen the severity of some illnesses, they also warn that, given our increasingly crowded planet, it is not a question of if but when and how often animal-transmitted diseases will pose serious challenges to human health in the future.

Since its first publication in 1983, Surviving Schizophrenia has become the standard reference book on the disease and has helped thousands of patients, their families and mental health professionals. In clear language, this much-praised and important book describes the nature, causes, symptoms, treatment and course of schizophrenia and also explores living with it from both the patient and the family's point of view. This new, completely updated sixth edition includes the latest research findings on what causes the disease as well as information about the newest drugs for treatment and answers to the questions most often asked by families, consumers and providers.

During his brief yet remarkable career, abolitionist Charles Torrey -- called the ""father of the Underground Railroad"" by his peers -- assisted almost four hundred slaves in gaining their freedom. A Yale graduate and an ordained minister, Torrey set up a well-organised route for escaped slaves traveling from Washington and Baltimore to Philadelphia and Albany. Arrested in Baltimore in 1844 for his activities, Torrey spent two years in prison before he succumbed to tuberculosis. By then, other abolitionists widely recognised and celebrated Torrey's exploits: running wagonloads of slaves northward in the night, dodging slave catchers and sheriffs, and involving members of Congress in his schemes. Nonetheless, the historiography of abolitionism has largely overlooked Torrey's fascinating and compelling story. The Martyrdom of Abolitionist Charles Torrey presents the first comprehensive biography of one of America's most dedicated abolitionists. According to author E. Fuller Torrey, a distant relative, Charles Torrey pushed the abolitionist movement to become more political and active. He helped advance the faction that challenged the leadership of William Lloyd Garrison, provoking an irreversible schism in the movement and making Torrey and Garrison bitter enemies. Torrey played an important role in the formation of the Liberty Party and in the emergence of political abolitionism. Not satisfied with the slow pace of change, he also pioneered aggressive abolitionism by personally freeing slaves, likely liberating more than any other person. In doing so, he inspired many others, including John Brown, who cited Torrey as one of his role models. E. Fuller Torrey's study not only fills a substantial gap in the history of abolitionism but restores Charles Torrey to his rightful place as one of the most dedicated and significant abolitionists in American history.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered an historic speech on mental illness and retardation. He described sweeping new programs to replace "the shabby treatment of the many millions of the mentally disabled in custodial institutions" with treatment in community mental health centers. This movement, later referred to as "deinstitutionalization," continues to impact mental health care. Though he never publicly acknowledged it, the program was a tribute to Kennedy's sister Rosemary, who was born mildly retarded and developed a schizophrenia-like illness. Terrified she'd become pregnant, Joseph Kennedy arranged for his daughter to receive a lobotomy, which was a disaster and left her severely retarded. Fifty years after Kennedy's speech, E. Fuller Torrey's book provides an inside perspective on the birth of the federal mental health program. On staff at the National Institute of Mental Health when the program was being developed and implemented, Torrey draws on his own first-hand account of the creation and launch of the program, extensive research, one-on-one interviews with people involved, and recently unearthed audiotapes of interviews with major figures involved in the legislation. As such, this book provides historical material previously unavailable to the public. Torrey examines the Kennedys' involvement in the policy, the role of major players, the responsibility of the state versus the federal government in caring for the mentally ill, the political maneuverings required to pass the legislation, and how closing institutions resulted not in better care - as was the aim - but in underfunded programs, neglect, and higher rates of community violence. Many now wonder why public mental illness services are so ineffective. At least one-third of the homeless are seriously mentally ill, jails and prisons are grossly overcrowded, largely because the seriously mentally ill constitute 20 percent of prisoners, and public facilities are overrun by untreated individuals. As Torrey argues, it is imperative to understand how we got here in order to move forward towards providing better care for the most vulnerable.

E. Fuller Torrey, the author of the definitive guides to schizophrenia and manic depression, chronicles a disastrous swing in the balance of civil rights that has resulted in numerous violent episodes and left a vulnerable population of mentally ill people homeless and victimized. Interweaving in-depth accounts of landmark cases in California, Wisconsin, and North Carolina with a history of legislation and changes in the mental health care system, Torrey gives shape to the magnitude of our failure and outlines what needs to be done to reverse this ongoing and accelerating disaster. A new epilogue on the 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, brings this tragic story up to date."

The most informative book available on prostate cancer by a doctor who has himself survived the disease When Dr. E. Fuller Torrey was diagnosed with prostate cancer, none of the books he could find was current enough or comprehensive en

Surviving Manic Depression is the most comprehensive, up-to-date book on the disorder that affects more than two million people in the United States alone. Based on the latest research, it provides detailed coverage of every aspect of the disorder.All aspects of the disease are addressed: symptoms, with many direct descriptions from patients themselves, risk factors, onset and cause, medications (including drugs still in the testing stage), causes, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation and how the disease affects children and adolescents. Here too are discussions of special problems related to manic-depressive disorder, including alcohol and drug abuse, violent behaviour, medication noncompliance, suicide, sex, AIDS, and confidentiality. Surviving Manic Depression also includes special features such as a listing of selected websites, videotapes, and other resources.

"Powerful. . . . The crisis [Torrey] delineates should stir any halfway sensitive human being to anger."--The New York Times Book Review "Brilliant and remarkably detailed. . . . Dr. Torrey, our clearest and most informed voice for the mentally ill, offers his own insightful plan for a way out . . . of a healthcare scandal that remains one of America's most enduring shames."--Phil Donahue. "If President Clinton is looking for a worthy goal to accomplish in his second term, here's one: Rescue the homeless mentally ill. It can be done. . . . Dr. E. Fuller Torrey . . . provides a five-year road map in Out of the Shadows."--New York Daily News. "An important book . . . timely and very well written."--The New England Journal of Medicine. "Controversial ideas, forcefully presented."--Kirkus Reviews "Moving and vivid. . . . Torrey's powerful prescription for change challenges conventional wisdom and political correctness. His searing case examples will haunt the reader."--Laurie Flynn Executive Director National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

An exciting account of the legendary Loomis Gang which terrorized Central New York during the mid- 1800s. This is an adaptation of Frontier Justice: The Rise and Fall of the Loomis Gang for young readers.

An important contribution to the ongoing debate over the origins of mental illness, this book is based on the largest study ever of identical twins in which one was ill and the other not. The book provides compelling evidence that both schizophrenia and manic-depressive disorder are biologically based diseases of the brain, unrelated to psychological influences.