Is There No Place for Me: Penguin Specials

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Kate Richards experienced episodes of depression and psychosis well into her adult life. As a trained doctor working in medical research, she is well positioned to ask the hard questions about how we care for our people with mental illness.

Using case studies and her own observations, Kate challenges the common belief that patients are responsible – even somehow to blame – for the existence of their illness. To the best of their ability, they are responsible for its management, but they did not create it. She argues for empowering patients and their families to be active members of treatment teams. She suggests that along with the right medication, sustained healing requires psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to reach out across the patient–therapist divide and find an essential human connection.

Kate's experiences are detailed in the critically acclaimed Madness: A Memoir.