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What determines the form of mental illness from which particular people suffer? Professor Claridge's central theme is that "psychiatric" disorders--even in their most severe forms--are abnormal manifestations of temperamental and personality characteristics we all possess to a greater or lesser degree. Examining the major forms of abnormality from this point of view, the author puts particular emphasis on the continuity between schizophrenia and normal behavior.From the PrefaceThe exact origins of this book are, I must confess, lost to me, though I do recall that in its present form it began to take shape in the waiting-room of a car body repair shop just north of Oxford. If that seems too casual a beginning, I should explain that my melancholic visit to that establishment eventually led to a more sanguine encounter with Philip Carpenter of Blackwell's. After seeing an early version of the manuscript he suggested to me that, with some revision, it might make a publishable book. Among other things I am grateful to him for articulating what was wrong with the original version and for focusing my mind on the laborious task of reshaping it. The book now conveys as well as it can, I believe, the ideas I meant to impart, at least to the audience for whom it was intended: students of psychology, psychiatry, and allied disciplines, inquisitive professionals in other specialties, and even those members of the general public interested in what an academic (alias clinical) psychologist has to say about mental illness.

This groundbreaking work is a unique collaboration between an Oxford psychologist and two literary critics. It was first published in 1990 and reprinted by Malor Books in 1998. The book explores the lives and works of ten authors, among them Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, who embody both serious mental illness and great originality of thought. The book draws upon personal diaries, historical archives, clinical records and literary productions, and examines modes of thinking such as divergent thought, over-inclusiveness, and autism, which psychosis and creativity might have in common. Using genetics, experimental abnormal and clinical psychology, personality research, descriptive psychiatry and literary analysis, the authors Gordon Claridge, Ruth Pryor and Gwen Watkins present the revolutionary idea that normality and psychosis are continuous with each other. Healthy varieties and styles of thought and perception substantially overlap with the inclination to psychotic breakdown and indeed might at times be identical.It’s not simple: neither a strict social interpretation nor a biological view of psychosis as a neurological disease can entirely explain the psychotic experience. As the authors eloquently put this, “The conjunction of the excellent and the awful is never found inany genuine neurological disease.” Psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, therapists and general readers will gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between madness and creativity from this book. By offering exceptionally rich discussion, the authors leave room for readers to view their own divergent thinking not as “crazy,” but as potentially useful and creative.

Two out of every five people in the U.S. regard themselves as "shy." Yet, shyness can be cured, says Dr. Philip Zimbardo, the nation's leading authority on shyness. With co-author Shirley Radl, Dr. Zimbardo presents a program for overcoming and preventing shyness from infancy to adulthood. The book is based on pioneering research conducted at the Stanford Shyness Clinic, including surveys of people in the U.S. and abroad, with children, parents, and teachers. The book documents which parenting "style" encourages self-confidence in a child, helps with the problems of being shy and provides methods for building a child's trust and self-esteem. It explores the role that school plays in contributing to a child's shyness, and suggests ways to improve the quality of the classroom experience for every child. THE SHY CHILD is the only book to provide an effective program for conquering childhood shyness, before it has a chance to limit a child's options and determine the course of the child's life.

The Healing Brain presents an easy-to-read, amusing, entertaining, and yet highly authoritative account of how our brain "minds" our body - actively guarding and defending our health and wellbeing. Neurologist Robert Ornstein and physician David Sobel highlight the themes most important to understanding this fascinating science. They explain that, contrary to many of our assumptions about the main purpose of our brain, it evolved primarily for "higher thinking" - and that, in fact, it works tirelessly to adapt to the changing world around us. This essential reference book helps us understand our brain as the original "health maintenance organization," and gives us the understanding we need to help it do what it does best: guard our health and help us to heal. This pioneering book helped bring about a new way of looking at the brain, one that restored the perspective that its major role is to mind the body and maintain health. The Healing Brain provided much of the raw material for the new view, and the collective weight of the findings helped close the artificial gap between mind and body.