Closing The Asylum: The Mentally Ill In Society by Peter Barham

by Peter Barham

Book by Barham

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Peter Barham is a British psychologist, historian, and mental health advocate whose career spans more than five decades. His work bridges clinical research, psychoanalysis, historical scholarship, activism, and filmmaking. With doctorates in abnormal psychology from the University of Durham and modern history from the University of Cambridge, Barham has combined academic rigor with hands-on engagement in mental health reform.
A chartered psychologist and elected fellow of the British Psychological Society, he was recognized for his outstanding contributions to psychological understandings of psychosis. He founded the Hamlet Trust, an organization that led grassroots mental health initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe with the support of George Soros’ Open Society Institute.
Barham is the author of several influential books, including Schizophrenia and Human Value (1984; revised 1995), Forgotten Lunatics of the Great War (2004, 2007), and Closing the Asylum: The mental patient in modern society (1992; reissued 2020).

Reviews

[Ade Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 5 (Citizens and Paupers) has the virtue of providing a clear conceptual system, refreshingly algebraic contrasted with the mishmash of numbers and arithmetical 'theories' concocted by those many in the mental health industry who are barely capable of doing sums. It is a breath of fresh air and clarity in the increasingly stale atmosphere of rhetoric.