From the horrors of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to hopeful stories of recovery, here are some of the best books about these much feared institutions
Terrifying ... Catherine Russell as Nurse Ratched in a theatrical adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Photograph: Jonathan Keenan
Both real and fictional psychiatric institutions are often described in books as places filled with fear, manipulation and danger. Authors frequently take creative liberties to up the intrigue, and frighten their readers with tales of abuse, hauntings and corruption. Although these themes may have been closer to reality in generations past, one hopes that as a society we are progressing toward better treatment and better facilities.
I have worked in many mental health and addiction treatment facilities in my career as a psychotherapist, and my experiences in these places helped inform my first novel, The Blind. Its protagonist, Dr Samantha James, works at Typhlos, a fictional psychiatric institution in Manhattan that is suffering from overcrowding and underfunding. Despite feeling caught up in red tape, Sam is an intrepid clinician, doing everything in her power to reach and help her patients – something that is, happily, also a common reality. Typhlos acts as the backdrop for her journey, teetering on the edge of mental illness, and her experience is mirrored in the chaos of the institution itself.
The following books are diverse representations of institutions (for both mental health and drug and alcohol treatment) as they once existed, and as they exist today, as well as the humanity and compassion that flourishes within the walls of these facilities.
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I am very grateful that my mental health issues have always been treated “in the community” although my 14 years of addiction to Valium might have been considerably less had clinicians known more about the problem and helped me reduce my intake safely. H.
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