A book by one of America's best-known psychiatrists that has taught generations of healers why treating patients is more than just diagnosing their illness. Modern medicine treats patients like broken machines - find out what's physically wrong, fix it and send the patient on their way. But people are not machines. When we are sick, we experience our illness: we are afraid, worried, tired, weary. Our illnesses are not only biological conditions, but also human. It was Arthur Kleinman, a Harvard psychiatrist and anthropologist, who recognised this truth, while most of his medical colleagues did not. Drawing on decades of clinical experience in the study and treatment of chronic illness, The Illness Narratives makes a case for interpreting the patient experience as a key feature of the doctor.
Reviews
"Kleinman brings a fresh perspective and" empathetic testimony " to the subject, using narratives, stories of pain and suffering that give form and meaning to the experience of illness."-. Elinor Lenz, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"If more doctors had Dr Kleinman's ability to see and respond to all the needs of the patient, we would not have the distrust of doctors that currently pervades our society." - Dr n. Med. Melvin Konner, author of Becoming a Doctor