First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery

In First Person Accounts of Mental Illness, case studies of individuals experiencing schizophrenia, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, substance use disorders, and other mental ailments will be provided for students studying the classification and treatment of psychopathology. All of the cases are written from the perspective of the mentally ill individual, providing readers with a unique perspective of the experience of living with a mental disorder.

"In their book First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery, LeCroy and Holschuh offer the student, researcher, or layperson the intimate voice of mental illness from the inside. First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery is a wonderful book, and it is an ideal, even indispensable, companion to traditional mental health texts. I am grateful that they have given the majority of this book to the voices that are too often unheard."
—John S. Brekke, PhD, Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research, School of Social Work, University of Southern California; Fellow, American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare

"This is absolutely a must-read for anyone who has been touched by someone with a mental illness, whether it be personal or professional. It is imperative that this book be required reading in any course dealing with psychopathology and the DSM, whether it be in psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, or counseling."
—Phyllis Solomon, PhD, Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice and Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania

A unique volume of first person narratives written from the perspective of individuals with a mental illness

Drawing from a broad range of sources, including narratives written expressly for this book, self-published accounts, and excerpts from previously published memoirs, this distinctive set of personal stories covers and illustrates a wide spectrum of mental disorder categories, including:

• Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders
• Mood disorders
• Anxiety disorders
• Personality disorders
• Substance-related disorders
• Eating disorders
• Impulse control disorders
• Cognitive disorders
• Somatoform disorders
• Dissociative disorders
• Gender identity disorders
• Sleep disorders
• Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence

Reflecting a recovery orientation and strengths-based approach, the authentic and relevant stories in First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery promote a greater appreciation for the individual's role in treatment and an expansion of hope and recovery.

Praise for First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery "This excellent work collects a number of reports that provide a valuable addition to our understanding of major psychiatric disorders. The experiences of the people with these problems are, after all, a key source of the data that are the core of all efforts at comprehending, treating, and carrying out research on these problems. Since much of our 'data' are in fact narratives of experiences and not just isolated pieces of criteria, this work contributes to the important foundation of all we do." ?John Strauss, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

"This book is a stellar resource for educators in social work and other helping fields. While I have in the past assigned single book-length first person accounts, I will use this collection to give my students a broader understanding of the tremendous heterogeneity in the ways that different people experience and cope with mental illness." ?Beth Angell, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Social Work and Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University

"The authors have compiled an important collection of first-person narratives of mental illness and recovery. Every course in mental, emotional and behavioral disorders should seek to give voice to the diverse lived experiences of consumers who want so much that we listen, understand their struggles and triumphs, and truly appreciate their humanity. This book will help us do that." ?Kia J. Bentley, Ph.D., Professor & Director, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work

"In their book First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery, LeCroy and Holschuh offer the student, researcher, or lay person the intimate voice of mental illness from the inside. First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery is a wonderful book, and it is an ideal, even indispensable, companion to traditional mental health texts. I am grateful that they have given the majority of this book to the voices that are too often unheard." ?John S. Brekke, Ph.D., Frances Larson Professor of Social Work Research, Fellow, American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, School of Social Work, University of Southern California

"This book provides a major new resource for education in the mental health professions and contains an extraordinary range of personal accounts of mental illness in one volume. These are given context and meaning though the introductions and study questions that precede each chapter." ?Linda Chafetz, RN, DNSc, Professor, Department of Community Health Systems, University of California, San Francisco

"This is one of the most compelling, comprehensive, and powerful compilations of first person accounts of resiliency and recovery that I've read. It will be an excellent teaching resource for instructors and professionals. The first-hand accounts will engage students in discussions that promote a more humane understanding and less stigmatizing image of mental illness. The book should be required reading in all schools of social work with a strengths-based mental health curriculum. It is a marvelous book and a gift to the reader." ?Jan S. Greenberg, Ph.D., Professor, School of Social Work, University of Wisconsin- Madison

"In this volume, Craig Winston Lecroy and Jane Holschuh have assembled a collection of essays and accounts that are at once inspiring, courageous, and revealing. Reading about people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the like will allow people to see the "real" side of these disorders and even more importantly, that people with such disorders are people whose lives are not defined by their disorders." ?Ann M. Kring, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Psychology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

"First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery is a gift to all who truly hope to understand people who live with mental disorders. This book is an engaging, informative, and inspiring must read." ?Nadine Nehls, Ph.D., RN, Professor and Associate Dean, University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Nursing

"LeCroy and Holschuh have produced a stellar work that will facilitate a deeper understanding of the subjective experience of living with mental illness. This comprehensive collection manages to be scholarly, engaging, and instructive at once." ?Christina E. Newhill, Ph.D., LCSW, Professor, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh

"This is absolutely a must read for anyone who has been touched by someone with a mental illness whether it be personal or professional. It is imperative that this book be required reading in any course dealing with psychopathology and the DSM whether it be in psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing ,or counseling." ?Phyllis Solomon, Ph.D., Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice and Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania

"The authors have put together a unique and inspiring collection of personal narratives that will assist readers in learning firsthand what it is like to be viewed and related to as a person with mental illness. Reading these varied and remarkable stories will promote insight for professionals and sensitize them to how individuals with a mental disorder perceive themselves." ?Leonard I. Stein, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

CRAIG WINSTON LeCROY, PhD, is a Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. He also holds an appointment at the University of Arizona in the John & Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, Family Studies and Human Development division. He is the author of over 100 scholarly publications including ten previous books on a wide range of topics, such as mental health, the social work profession, home visitation, and research methodology.

JANE HOLSCHUH, PhD, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Social Work at Humboldt State University and currently teaches in the MSW program at Arizona State University.

"In their book First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery, LeCroy and Holschuh offer the student, researcher, or layperson the intimate voice of mental illness from the inside. First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery is a wonderful book, and it is an ideal, even indispensable, companion to traditional mental health texts. I am grateful that they have given the majority of this book to the voices that are too often unheard." --John S. Brekke, PhD , Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research, School of Social Work, University of Southern California; Fellow, American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare "This is absolutely a must-read for anyone who has been touched by someone with a mental illness, whether it be personal or professional. It is imperative that this book be required reading in any course dealing with psychopathology and the DSM, whether it be in psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, or counseling." --Phyllis Solomon, PhD , Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice and Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania A unique volume of first person narratives written from the perspective of individuals with a mental illness Drawing from a broad range of sources, including narratives written expressly for this book, self-published accounts, and excerpts from previously published memoirs, this distinctive set of personal stories covers and illustrates a wide spectrum of mental disorder categories, including: Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders Mood disorders Anxiety disorders Personality disorders Substance-related disorders Eating disorders Impulse control disorders Cognitive disorders Somatoform disorders Dissociative disorders Gender identity disorders Sleep disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence Reflecting a recovery orientation and strengths-based approach, the authentic and relevant stories in First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery promote a greater appreciation for the individual's role in treatment and an expansion of hope and recovery.

"In their book First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery, LeCroy and Holschuh offer the student, researcher, or layperson the intimate voice of mental illness from the inside. First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery is a wonderful book, and it is an ideal, even indispensable, companion to traditional mental health texts. I am grateful that they have given the majority of this book to the voices that are too often unheard." John S. Brekke, PhD , Frances G. Larson Professor of Social Work Research, School of Social Work, University of Southern California; Fellow, American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare "This is absolutely a must-read for anyone who has been touched by someone with a mental illness, whether it be personal or professional. It is imperative that this book be required reading in any course dealing with psychopathology and the DSM, whether it be in psychology, psychiatry, social work, nursing, or counseling." Phyllis Solomon, PhD , Professor in the School of Social Policy & Practice and Professor of Social Work in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania A unique volume of first person narratives written from the perspective of individuals with a mental illness Drawing from a broad range of sources, including narratives written expressly for this book, self-published accounts, and excerpts from previously published memoirs, this distinctive set of personal stories covers and illustrates a wide spectrum of mental disorder categories, including: Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders Mood disorders Anxiety disorders Personality disorders Substance-related disorders Eating disorders Impulse control disorders Cognitive disorders Somatoform disorders Dissociative disorders Gender identity disorders Sleep disorders Disorders usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence Reflecting a recovery orientation and strengths-based approach, the authentic and relevant stories in First Person Accounts of Mental Illness and Recovery promote a greater appreciation for the individual's role in treatment and an expansion of hope and recovery.

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