From Lost in Jail to Psychiatric Ward to PhD in Psychology - New Book on Schizo-Affective Disorder.

Nov. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- In this true story, Carolyn Dobbins, a psychotherapist in Knoxville, describes her sessions with her patient Jane who, over the course of time, recounts her personal history. George E Doebler  M Div. Special Advisor, Dept. of Pastoral Care, University of Tennessee Medical Center:, Executive Director, emeritus: Association of Mental Health Clergy (now Association of Professional Chaplains) said "the dialogue between the therapist and the patient is philosophical, witty, sad, frightening, caring ----and lovingly done."

He added that this "is a book about each of us, with whatever label we might have"  and "It will challenge your thinking about mental illness, about hope, about faith, about who you are.".

Thomas Burish, a professor of psychology and Provost of Notre Dame University, called this book "powerful and revealing, and provides a unique insight into chronic mental disease."

Dr. E Fuller Torrey describes the book as "an inspiration for all who have ever experienced psychosis" and highly recommends it.

Dr. Torrey is the author of Surviving Schizophrenia and is the executive director of the Stanley Medical Research Center in  Chevy Chase, MD.

Dr Kenneth O Jobson, a psychiatrist in Knoxville, said "This book gives a model of resilience and success in dealing with a troubling and potentially lifelong disabling psychiatric illness - a model that conveys a strategy of action and attitude. It can serve patients and their families toward tackling demanding expectations and experiences with severe psychiatric illness. It informs and gives one hope."

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in a review in The Advocate states "The author of this book shows how people are more than their illness, their profession or their position in a family. It is the sum of all parts that makes a person."

In a five star review on Amazon, Sandra Yuen MacKay who wrote My Schizophrenic Life: The Road to Recovery From Mental Illness, said "Carolyn writes with sensitivity, confidence, sincerity, and great perceptiveness......(she) recognizes the individuality of people with mental illness and the importance of hope and empathy."

Dr. Dobbins lives and works in Knoxville, TN. She  received her BS from the University of Utah and her PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1990. While at Vanderbilt, Carolyn received an NIMH scholarship and two two-year Clinical Fellowships along with four research assistantships and a research associateship. She has served in the mental health field for 22 years and, in her teens, Carolyn was a nationally ranked Alpine and Nordic skier, best female in the US in biathlon her senior year of high school and ran in the Boston Marathon as a teen.

For further details on the book, please visit. http://www.bridgeross.com/whatalife.html

What A Life Can Be is distributed by Ingram and available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters/Indigo,. Books a Million and in Kindle format

ISBN 978-0-9866522-2-6, 226 pages, $19.95

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Bridgeross Communications specializes in books and documentaries on mental illness. Our titles have been recommended by NAMI in the US, EUFAMI in Europe and by the Mood Disorders Association of Canada.