Book

The magic of healing

In his book The magic of healing, Willem van der Does talks about 14 pioneers in the history of psychiatry. These pioneers all had one thing in common: they started with a radical idea which led to great enthusiasm.

Author

Willem van der Does

Date

11 May 2023

Links

The magic of healing - Alfabet Uitgevers

The history of medicine has a fair share of highlights, but at the same time it is a horror story. Nobody today would want to be treated like the psychiatric patient of half a century or more ago. In his book, Willem van der Does explains how hypnosis and the placebo effect were discovered, how the inventor of lobotomy - a life-threatening treatment - was awarded the Nobel Prize, and how psychedelics were used successfully decades ago. He delves into the stories behind electroshocks, psychoanalysis, emdr and Prozac. Historical hypes and derailments show how much progress has been made, but also how tough it has been. What have we learned from the spectacular mishaps along the way and what road is still ahead?

Source: Alfabet Uitgevers