Madness on the Couch: Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis. by Dolnick, Edward - 1998.

New York:: Simon & Schuster, 1998.. 1st Printing.. Hardbound . BINDING/CONDITION: two color binding, beige with black at the spine; a Fine book, with a Fine dust jacket; publisher's price on the jacket flap is intact.. 8vo (about 9.5 inches tall) . Notes, bibliography, index. Description: Includes a section of black and white p photo plates. The publisher's blurb reads: ''In the golden age of 'talk therapy', psychotherapists saw no limit to what they could do. Believing they had already explained the origins of war, homosexuality, anti-Semitism, and a host of neurotic ailments, they set out to conquer mental illness. Author Edward Dolnick focuses on the battles against schizophrenia, autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Armed with only words and the best of intentions, psychoanalysts set out to vanquish these enemies. They achieved the worst of outcomes. This account uses the voices of therapists as well as those of patients and their loved ones to describe the controversial methods used to treat the mentally ill, and their heartbreaking consequences. A gripping tale of hubris, arrogant pride, and terrible heartbreak, this combines the immediacy of journalism with the depth of history.''