Welcome to My Country: A Therapist's Memoir of Madness

Slater, a therapist who has suffered from mental illness of her own, recounts stories of treating severely mentally ill patients. She tries to show that the severely mentally ill yearn for friendship, love, and companionship just as much as their healthier counterparts do. This hardly sounds groundbreaking, but it does contradict certain psychological treatises-- most notably, Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Slater works with severely schizophrenic men. These men suffer hallucinations, their linguistic abilities have been stolen by disease, they are sometimes catatonic. In these conditions Slater uses talk therapy to find desire for connection, though it is often deeply hidden.Slater manages to convey the sadness and despair that surround profound mental illness, though there are glimmers of hope too. The writing in this book is too florid at times, but Slater always approaches her subjects with grace and humanity. I enjoyed Slater's discussion of her academic training and the theoretical universe in which she works. Readers get to see how she uses academic training to make treatment decisions. We get to see how she thinks as a practitioner. This is a fascinating memoir, though perhaps not as groundbreaking as it was in 1996.

If you're a mental health counselor, a patient or even an anthropologist looking for a good read authored by a fine writer who is compassionate, smart, and not ideological... then read this and everything else Lauren writes including Skinners Box

A courageous book where the therapist was once a patient. A tender look at the intersection between caretaker Andy patient. j

I chose to read this book for my college abnormal psychology class. I picked the book from a list created by the professor with a description of each book. I chose this book because I was interested in the fact that the author was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, and I was hoping to learn more about this affliction. Unfortunately, this book barely addresses Borderline Personality Disorder. Since the author, Lauren Slater, is a clinical psychologist, this memoir focuses on her patients and the disorders that plague them rather than her own diagnosis. I was misled to believe that this book would be more of an autobiography. However, I can't fault the book for my own misunderstanding. It was very well written, was easy to understand, and was interesting. Future readers should just be aware that the disorders covered involve schizophrenia, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and depression.

Beautifully written. Stunning metaphors. Heart wrenching story.

Awesome book

Her books are in my top 10 of the best psychology books to read. I love all of Lauren Slater's books. This one is a beautiful and touching account of her work with patients. Moving away from the traditional boundary laden pathology model for treatment, she offers a more humane and authentic model and way to approach those with serious mental health issues. She treats them like human beings. Karen Bugental Atkinson

This was on my reading list for a counseling course. So far, it is my favorite "school" book. It is insightful, flows well, and it gives a sense of depth, meaning, and purpose to issues/illnesses that sometimes seem difficult to make sense of.

Lauren Slater is a psychologist who obviously enjoys a colourful turn of phrase. In Welcome to My Country, she recounts her experiences of working at a clinic in Boston alongside the schizophrenic, the chronically depressed, the sociopathic, and the otherwise troubled. She positively revels in vivid description, describing one patient as having 'skin the color of deep coal', another as having a spine 'standing out like a string of pearls', and yet another as having a 'voice as bleak as a British moor'. This very much underlines the fact that this is not a textbook containing dispassionate case histories, but an experiential account of engaging with mentally and emotionally disturbed individuals.As Slater's story unfolds it becomes apparent that she is remarkably successful in entering into the worlds of her patients - even when those worlds remain stubbornly unintelligible. She comes to empathise with her patients, even when initially revolted by some of their characteristics. This is a very striking aspect of the story, especially given her admission of how little confidence she often has in formally understanding her patients' needs. Slater's strength (and her vulnerability) seems to lie in her ability to empathise. Indeed, aspects of her patients' stories stir up personal memories and emotions for her, forcing her to confront certain aspects of herself.What is so disarming about this book - and what only gradually becomes apparent - is that Slater is personally familiar with psychological torment. It is this which finally gives contextual meaning to the entire book in an exquisitely moving final chapter.Welcome to My Country is a beautifully written memoir, expressing well-informed insight through a fusion of imagination, poetic language and technical knowledge. An extraordinary book.

'Welcome to my country' is the fascinating story of a young psychiatrist at the start of her career, narrating her account of her encounters with a number of different clients.Lauren Slater's writing is beautifully captivating; she mixes psychological theory with her own reflective experience to create a fascinating acocunt that breaks down the barriers in our understanding of the terms 'doctor' and 'patient' and challenges our view of mental illness and recovery.Going back into her personal history, the book's ending is absolutely fantastic, as it fully explains the author's personal troubled journey through to the other side of mental health. An excellent read for anyone interested in the social sciences, medicine, or just in challenging and questioning their own sanity.

I love the concept of this book as I found it really interesting to look at therapy from the psychologist’s point of view. She talks about a variety of patients with different disorders, which is very informative as well as fascinating. Definitely would recommend!

I'm not much for confessional writing - it's usually boring. This work is wildly different from sensationalism taking readers to their own deep souls by the writer's gifted prose.