A disability of the soul : an ethnography of schizophrenia and mental illness in contemporary Japan
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
A disability of the soul : an ethnography of schizophrenia and mental illness in contemporary Japan
（Cornell paperbacks）
Cornell University Press, 2013
- : pbk
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Note
"Reprinted without accompanying DVD in 2017 With ISBN 9784501717048"--T.p. verso
Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-238) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Bethel House, located in a small fishing village in northern Japan, was founded in 1984 as an intentional community for people with schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. Using a unique, community approach to psychosocial recovery, Bethel House focuses as much on social integration as on therapeutic work. As a centerpiece of this approach, Bethel House started its own businesses in order to create employment and socialization opportunities for its residents and to change public attitudes toward the mentally ill, but also quite unintentionally provided a significant boost to the distressed local economy. Through its work programs, communal living, and close relationship between hospital and town, Bethel has been remarkably successful in carefully reintegrating its members into Japanese society. It has become known as a model alternative to long-term institutionalization.
In A Disability of the Soul, Karen Nakamura explores how the members of this unique community struggle with their lives, their illnesses, and the meaning of community. Told through engaging historical narrative, insightful ethnographic vignettes, and compelling life stories, her account of Bethel House depicts its achievements and setbacks, its promises and limitations. A Disability of the Soul is a sensitive and multidimensional portrait of what it means to live with mental illness in contemporary Japan.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. ArrivalsLife Story 1. Memory and Catharsis: Kiyoshi's StoryChapter 2. Psychiatry in JapanLife Story 2. Coming of Age in Japan: Rika's StoryChapter 3. Christianity in Japan and the Establishment of Hokkaido
Chapter 4. The Founding of BethelLife Story 3. UFOs and Other Mass Delusions: Kohei's StoryChapter 5. The Doctor and the HospitalLife Story 4. 37 Years of Institutionalization: Why Did Yuzuru Never Want to Leave the Hospital?Chapter 6. Bethel TherapiesLife Story 5. Peer Support and a Meaningful Life: Gen's StoryChapter 7. DeparturesChapter 8. Beyond Bethel: A PostscriptNotes
References
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"
