Halliwell examines the cultural history of modern American medicine and psychiatry focusing on the late twentieth century. He pays particular attention to the politics of the post-Watergate, bicentennial-era American nation and brings into conversation a diverse cast of writers, filmmakers, physicians, policy-makers, social critics, and public figures.
This richly layered account of mental health in the late twentieth century interweaves three important stories: the rising political prominence of mental health in the US since 1970; the shifting medical diagnostics of mental health at a time when activists were speaking out about the needs and rights of patients; and the concept of voice in literature, film, memoir, journalism, and medical case study.
