Outside The Asylum: A Memoir Of War, Disaster And Humanitarian Psychiatry

Author: Lynne Jones

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General Fields

  • : 32.99 AUD
  • : 9781474605755
  • : Orion Publishing Co
  • : Weidenfeld & Nicolson
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  • : May 2017
  • : 234mm X 153mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : 32.99
  • : June 2017
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  • : books

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  • : Lynne Jones
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  • : Paperback
  • : 1
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  • : 368
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Barcode 9781474605755
9781474605755

Description

Outside the Asylum is Lynne Jones's personal exploration of the evolution of humanitarian psychiatry and the changing world of international relief. Her memoir graphically describes her experiences as a practising psychiatrist in war zones and disasters around the world, from the Balkans and 'mission-accomplished' Iraq, to tsunami-affected Indonesia, post-earthquake Haiti and 'the Jungle' in Calais. The book poses and attempts to address awkward questions. What happens if the psychiatric hospital in which you have lived for ten years is bombed and all the staff run away? What is it like to see all your family killed in front of you when you are 12 years old? Is it true that almost everyone caught up in a disaster is likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder? What can mental health professionals do to help? How does one stay neutral and impartial in the face of genocide? Why would a doctor support military intervention? From her training in one of Britain's last asylums, to treating traumatised soldiers in Gorazde after the Bosnian war, and learning from traditional healers in Sierra Leone, Lynne has worked with extraordinary people in extraordinary situations. But this book is not only about psychiatry. It also shines a light on humanitarian aid and all its glories and problems. She shows how ill-thought-out interventions do more harm than good and that mental well-being is deeply connected to human rights and the social and political worlds in which people live. It also reveals the courage and resilience of people who have to survive and endure some of the most frightening situations in the world.

Reviews

It will fill you with soaring admiration for those who dedicate their lives to help those who need it, fired by a strong belief in humanity. -- Caroline Sanderson THE BOOKSELLER

Author description

Lynne Jones is a child psychiatrist, relief worker and writer. She has spent much of the last twenty-five years establishing and running mental health programmes in areas of conflict or natural disaster. Her previous book, Then They Started Shooting: Children of the Bosnian War and the Adults They Become, explores children's understanding of political violence. Her field diaries have been published in the London Review of Books and O, The Oprah Magazine, and her audio diaries broadcast on the BBC World Service. Jones has an MA in human sciences from the University of Oxford. She qualified in medicine before specialising in psychiatry and has a PhD in social psychology and political science. In 2001, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her work in child psychiatry in conflict-affected areas of Central Europe. She regularly consults for WHO. She is currently working as a child psychiatrist in Cornwall, is an honorary consultant at the South London and Maudsley NHS trust in London, and is a visiting scientist at the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University.