Psychology topics explored in
Madman
Strange Adventures of a Psychology Intern
by John Suler, Ph.D.
The Profession of Psychology
- the lifestyle of the psychology graduate student and intern
- the various motivations for becoming a psychotherapist
- life in a psychiatric unit of a teaching hospital, including morning report, grand rounds, intake interviews, admission and discharge, reports, community meetings, and the use of isolation
- the relationships among different mental health professionals
- the training of the psychologist vs the psychiatrist
- psychoanalytic institutes
- the psychological and social significance of coffee among professionals - how the psychotherapist relates to family and friends
- publishing in psychology
- burn-out among professionals
Mental Health and Illness
- defining normal vs abnormal
- the prevalence of mental illness
- test battery interpretation, including the MMPI and Rorschach
- the DSM and the process of diagnosis
- the mental status exam
- depression, schizophrenia, cognitive disorders, borderline disorders
- personality styles (compulsive, schizotypal, narcissistic, etc.)
- stress reactions, insomnia, suicidal symptoms and assessment
- the role of family relations in mental health
- dreams and dream states
- catatonia and amnesia
- identity, selfobjects, and the sense of self
- ambivalence and conflict
- secondary gain
Mental Health Therapies
- inpatient vs outpatient treatment
- treatment of patients with severe psychiatric disorders
- psychoanalytic therapy
-
analytic neutrality, transference and countertransference
- ways to conceptualize the role of the psychotherapist
- the role of confidentiality in psychotherapy
- mistakes psychotherapists make
- biological treatments, such as medications and ECT
- the effects of labeling
- the therapeutic aspects of journaling and fiction writing
- the therapeutic aspects of
free association
- the therapeutic aspects of transcendent experiences
- computerized psychotherapy
- the I Ching as an eastern approach to personal growth
Psychological Theory
- psychoanalytic drive theory, behaviorism, and Jungian archetypes
- the debates among different psychological theories
- biological vs psychological explanations of the mind
- neuropsychology and physiological reductionism
- psychophysiological measures and lie detection
- scientism and the limits of science in understanding the mind
- artificial intelligence
Professors love Madman because...
Students gain an understanding and respect for the complexity of our field and the rigors of clinical practice. Their career choices are informed by deeper knowledge of the adventures that would await them in their graduate training, internship and clinical practice. The events taking place in the story, as well as short essays written by the intern Thomas Holden in his journal, explore a wide variety of concepts in psychopathology and psychotherapy.
Free Instructor Packet
You may already know the author, John Suler, Ph.D., from his award winning website Teaching Clinical Psychology, his groundbreaking research in cyberpsychology, or his work in photographic psychology. As an open access pioneer, he provides the resources you need to integrate Madman into any of your courses and to make those classes come alive, especially introductory psychology, abnormal psychology, psychopathology, counseling, and psychotherapy.
Instructor Packet (pdf)
Sample chapters 1 and 2 (pdf)
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Ordering info:
MADMAN: Strange Adventures of a Psychology Intern, by John R. Suler, paperback, 5X8, 346 pages, ISBN 978-0-9842255-3-8, Publisher: True Center Publishing Available from Ingram and Baker & Taylor, $17.95