Healing

Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health

De: Thomas Insel MD

Narrado por: Thomas Insel MD

A bold, expert, and actionable map for the re-invention of America’s broken mental health care system

As director of the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Thomas Insel was giving a presentation when the father of a boy with schizophrenia yelled from the back of the room, “Our house is on fire and you’re telling me about the chemistry of the paint! What are you doing to put out the fire?” Dr. Insel knew in his heart that the answer was not nearly enough. The gargantuan American mental health industry was not healing millions who were desperately in need. He left his position atop the mental health research world to investigate all that was broken—and what a better path to mental health might look like.

In the United States, we have treatments that work, but our system fails at every stage to deliver care well. Even before COVID, mental illness was claiming a life every eleven minutes by suicide. Quality of care varies widely, and much of the field lacks accountability. We focus on drug therapies for symptom reduction rather than on plans for long-term recovery. Care is often unaffordable and unavailable, particularly for those who need it most and are homeless or incarcerated. Where was the justice for the millions of Americans suffering from mental illness? Who was helping their families?

But Dr. Insel also found that we do have approaches that work, both in the U.S. and globally. Mental illnesses are medical problems, but he discovers that the cures for the crisis are not just medical, but social. This path to healing, built upon what he calls the three Ps (people, place, and purpose), is more straightforward than we might imagine. Dr. Insel offers a comprehensive plan for our failing system and for families trying to discern the way forward.

The fruit of a lifetime of expertise and a global quest for answers, Healing is a hopeful, actionable account and achievable vision for us all in this time of mental health crisis.


*This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains charts and graphs.

Great insights and historical context

I really enjoyed all of the context that Dr. Insel provides to illustrate how the mental health care system has become what it is. He outlines several aspects or challenges of our current system, such as medication efficacy, therapy, bed shortages, insurance, care models etc. His insight into these topics is greatly appreciated. I am a psychiatric resident and am very glad to have read this book as it helped me to better concetualize many of my own concerns with our care system. It also gave me hope that we can make progress towards a solution.

the hope

such an important topic. We in the US are experiencing so much suffering and there are pathways to improve our care. we need to institute systems to take care of all of our nation.

Interesting, with a smattering of leftism.

I’ve always known the mental health system was broken and this explains there functional “how.” His viewpoints and recommendations are state-centric from a leftist perspective.

Absolutely beautiful, HOPE

Dr. Insel’s book is not only informative and insightful, he offers actual solutions to bring about hope and healing. I have used his teachings in my Practice. I am grateful for this book and highly encourage anyone who wants to be a part of the social change on mental illness/health to listen carefully to the insights of his teachings.

Outstanding analysis and roadmap forward for mental health systems improvement

Great historical context for how we got here and have great personal stories to illustrate the voice of so many with serious mental illness and their families. Not only that, real solutions that I know will work if we have the political will to care!

Wide Ranging Insights from a Psychiatric Pioneer

This illuminating book by the former Director of NIMH is a superb overview of what “ails” the American mental healthcare system - hardly a “system”, because it is so fragmented - and a set of “prescriptions” for improving it. Dr Insel shares his vast fund of knowledge and experience, weaving together the history of mental healthcare policies, the history of major psychiatric and psychological theories and practice patterns, numerous stories of individual patients, and examples of best practices that deserve close attention from health system leaders and government officials; yet all the while he maintains a humble tone, demonstrating a consistent willingness to update his thinking and set aside his own past convictions. It is clear that Dr Insel has had a lifelong interest to raise mental health care standards and accountability to be comparable to medical conditions such as heart disease or pediatric cancer. The book further benefits from his sharing about being California’s mental health czar for a year. During that time he learned from the homeless, skid row psychiatrists, law enforcement, and many others. Dr Insel’s many faceted background in psychoanalysis, clinical research, the neurobiology of attachment, administration, technology, being a parent of two children with mental health challenges, all combined with a keen eye and the warmth of a caring clinician, make this book a gem and must-read for anyone who cares about advancing the future of mental health. Make sure to listen or read through to the end; I personally found the FutureProof program for youth mental health promotion in Australia to be particularly inspiring. Thank you Dr Insel!

This book is a Game Changer

Dr. Insel's book is a game changer. In it he combines his expertise, personal lived experience, powerful stories, and the breadth of the history of mental health care and couples all that with a vision of the future of care in a compelling narrative that gives hope and a new paradigm of the need for the 3 P's: People (connection) Place (safety/shelter) and Purpose. It should be read by anyone in the field or anyone needing support for mental health--which means everyone!

For everyone (mental health experience or none at all)

This book makes sense of many things that felt hopeless otherwise. I will be recommending to everyone I know. It changed my outlook on healthcare and our potential.

Eye-opening for the late person

For quite some time, it has been plainly obvious to anyone in the United States, that there is a serious mental health problem. But for us who are not in the mental health profession, we know little about the cause of this growing problem and even less about the solution. This book examines the issue from numerous important perspectives and helps the reader understand there are solutions. In this book there is also a strong notion that every one of us can do something to help the mental health crisis in our communities. This book is laden with a hopeful tone. The ideas in this book can be the genesis of a movement that will greatly help our struggling family members and neighbors.

Insightful, thoughtful, and actionable

I work in mental health housing and often wondered why the mental health system seems so unsystematic. This book provided helpful historical context as well as great ideas for a way forward. I'm going to re-read it immediately.