The Literature of Prescription: Education Other Resources

CURATOR’S BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Cutter, Martha J. “The Writer as Doctor: New Models of Medical Discourse in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Later Fiction.” Literature and Medicine 20, no. 2 (Fall 2001): 151–182.
• Dock, Julie Bates, ed. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wall-paper” and the History of Its Publication and Reception: A Critical Edition and Documentary Casebook. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
• Golden, Catherine J., ed. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wall-Paper: A Sourcebook and Critical Edition. New York: Routledge, 2004.
• Lutz, Thomas Michael. American Nervousness, 1903: An Anecdotal History. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.
• Poirier, Suzanne. “The Weir Mitchell Rest Cure: Doctors and Patients.” Women’s Studies 10 (1983): 15–40.
• Thrailkill, Jane F. “Doctoring ‘The Yellow Wallpaper.’” English Literary History 69, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 525–66.

SUGGESTED READING FOR HIGH SCHOOL

Fiction

• Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White. 3 vols. London: Sampson Low, 1860.
  In this tale of deceit, stolen identity, and murder, a devious husband uses a false claim of insanity as a tool in his attempt to steal an inheritance from sisters Laura Fairlie and Marian Halcomb.
• Greenberg, Joanne. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1964.
  In this semiautobiographical novel, 16-year-old Deborah Blau retreats into a fantasy world to cope with her problems at school and at home. Eventually, she is able to recover and emerge from the world she created with the compassionate help of a psychiatrist.
• Marchetta, Melina. Saving Francesca. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004.
  Sixteen-year old Francesca thinks she had her hands full with the comical misadventures she experiences trying to fit in at a newly co-ed school. However, life gets even more complicated after her mother suddenly takes to her bed without explanation.
• Torres, J., and Eric Kim. Degrassi Extra Credit #3: Missing You. New York: Pocket Books, 2007.
  In this graphic novel set in the fictional universe of the television show, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Spinner, a newly born again Christian, grapples with religion and a long-term relationship; while Liberty, a teenage mother, deals with conflicting feelings about giving her baby up for adoption and possible post-partum depression.
• Vizzini, Ned. It’s Kind of a Funny Story. New York: Miramax Books, 2006.
  Craig Gilner’s year of intensive studying has finally paid off: he’s been accepted to one of the most prestigious private high schools in Manhattan. So why is he checking himself into a psychiatric hospital when he should be celebrating?

Non-Fiction

• Astbury, Jill. Crazy for You: The Making of Women’s Madness. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996.
  This book examines how “the woman question” has influenced how women have been diagnosed and treated by the health profession from the 1800s onward, and led to oppressive treatments such as the rest cure.
• Ehrenreich, Barbara, and Deirdre English. For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts’ Advice to Women. New York: Anchor Books, 2005.
  Authors Ehrenreich and English offer a critique of historical advice given by medical, psychology, and parenting experts to women on how they should conduct their lives.
• Ford, Emily, Michael R. Liebowitz, and Linda Wasmer Anderson. What You Must Think of Me: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager’s Experience with Social Anxiety Disorder. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
  In this frank, witty, and poignant true story, Emily Ford shares how she negotiated the obstacles of social anxiety disorder and overcame them with the help of therapy and hard work.
• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Living of Charlotte Perkins Gilman: An Autobiography. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1991.
  This re-issued edition of Gilman’s autobiography, which was first published posthumously in 1935, includes an introduction by Gilman’s noted biographer, Anne J. Lane.
• Horowitz, Allan V. Creating Mental Illness. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002.
  The author of this volume argues that many normal behaviors have been redefined as psychological conditions and presents social and financial incentives behind the “over-medicalization” of normal emotions and behavior.
• Irwin, Cait, Dwight L. Evans, and Linda Wasmer Anderson. Monochrome Days: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager’s Experience with Depression. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
  In this in-depth yet accessible book, the authors demystify the often confusing science behind depression and look at the causes, treatment, and management of depression.
• Jamieson, Patrick R., and Moira Rynn. Mind Race: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager’s Experience with Bipolar Disorder. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
  In this memoir, Patrick Jamieson discusses the challenges of coping with the highs and lows of bipolar illness, and offers advice on dealing with symptoms, medications, and communicating with family and friends about the bipolar experience.
• Kant, Jared Douglas, Martin Franklin, and Linda Wasmer Anderson. The Thought That Counts: A Firsthand Account of One Teenager’s Experience with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  In this touching and harrowing account, Jared Kant, who was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder at age 11, shares his trials, tribulations, and triumph over the illness and the isolation it causes.
• Schultz, Samantha. I Don’t Want To Be Crazy. New York: Scholastic, 2004.
  In this memoir with a spin, the author uses poetry to recount her struggle with debilitating panic attacks and her journey to gain control of her life.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. Women and Economics: A Study of the Economic Relations Between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution. Boston: Small, Maynard, and Co., 1898. From A Celebration of Women Writers. Mary Mark Ockerbloom, ed. http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/gilman/economics/economics.html(accessed February 10, 2016).
  This site provides access to this noted title by Gilman—published in 1898 and repeatedly printed and translated into many languages—in which she explores the economic relations between women and men from the viewpoint of evolutionary science.
• ———. The Forerunner. New York: Greenwood Reprint Corp., 1968. From HathiTrust Digital Library. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000544186 (accessed February 10, 2016).
  The Forerunner, a monthly magazine written and edited by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, was published from 1909 to 1916. Among the works published in The Forerunner are the three novels of Gilman’s feminist utopian trilogy: Moving the Mountain (1911), Herland (1915), and With Her in Outland (1916).
• “Statement of Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Stetson, of California.” Hearing of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, Washington DC, January 28, 1896. From Library of Congress, Votes for Women: Selections from the National Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848–1921. https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbnawsa.n9903/?sp=6 (accessed June 11, 2018).
  In this statement given before the US Congress in support of suffrage, Gilman argues that denying the vote to women restricts the development of the human race.
• “The Elizabeth Smith Miller and Anne Fitzhugh Miller Scrapbooks, 1897–1911.” From Library of Congress, National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection //memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/rbcmillerbib:@FIELD(SUBJ+@od1(+gilman,+charlotte+perkins++1860+1935++)) (accessed February 10, 2016).
  These scrapbooks record the efforts of American women and men who worked in the suffrage movement at the state, national, and international levels. They include 16 clippings related to suffrage activities and lectures given by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
• “Charlotte Anna Perkins Gilman 1860–1935.” From Poetry Foundation. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/charlotte-anna-perkins-gilman (accessed February 10, 2016)
  This website provides a short biography of Gilman’s life and links to 13 of her poems.
• “Books by Gilman, Charlotte Perkins.” From Project Gutenberg. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/27 (accessed February 10, 2016)
  Project Gutenberg offers online access to several of Gilman’s books and writings on its site, including The Yellow Wallpaper, Herland, Our Androcentric Culture, or The Man-Made World, What Diantha Did, and Concerning Children, among others.
• “Charlotte Perkins Gilman Digital Collection.” From Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University, Papers of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1846–1975. http://schlesinger.radcliffe.harvard.edu/onlinecollections/gilman/search?query= (accessed February 10, 2016)
  The Schlesinger Library is the repository for Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s papers, and makes available scans of every item in the collection. The collection contains items that document Gilman’s thinking about women’s dress, housekeeping responsibility, domestic architecture, and the demand for equal rights. Biographical information is also searchable and leads to documents about Gilman’s family, marriage and divorce, the custody of her child, travel, and her extraordinary career.

Mental Health Careers

• Health Educators and Community Health Workers work with people and communities in promoting wellness. Health educators teach people about behaviors that promote wellness. They develop and implement strategies to improve the health of individuals and communities. Community health workers collect data and provide a link between specific communities, health educators, and other health care and social service professionals.
• Medical Scientists conduct research aimed at improving overall human health. They often use clinical trials and other investigative methods to reach their findings.
• Mental Health Counselors help people manage and overcome mental and emotional disorders and problems with family and other relationships. They listen to clients and ask questions to help the clients understand their problems and develop strategies to improve their lives.
• Physicians and Surgeons diagnose and treat injuries or illnesses. Physicians examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests. Psychiatrists are physicians who diagnose, treat, and help prevent disorders of the mind. Surgeons operate on patients to treat injuries, such as broken bones; diseases, such as cancerous tumors; and deformities, such as cleft palates.
• Psychologists study cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior by observing, interpreting, and recording how people relate to one another and their environments.
• Psychiatric Technicians or Aides care for people who have mental illness and developmental disabilities. Technicians typically provide therapeutic care and monitor their patients’ conditions. Aides help patients in their daily activities and ensure a safe, clean environment.
• Recreational Therapists plan, direct, and coordinate recreation-based treatment programs for people with disabilities, injuries, or illnesses. These therapists use a variety of modalities, including arts and crafts; drama, music, and dance; sports and games; aquatics; and community outings to help maintain or improve a patient’s physical, social, and emotional well-being.
• Registered Nurses provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members.
• Rehabilitation Counselors help people with physical, mental, developmental, and emotional disabilities live independently. They work with clients to overcome or manage the personal, social, or psychological effects of disabilities on employment or independent living.
• Social Workers help people solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives. One group of social workers—clinical social workers—also diagnose and treat mental, behavioral, and emotional issues.
• Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors advise people who suffer from alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, or other behavioral problems. They provide treatment and support to help the client recover from addiction or modify problem behaviors.

Mental Health Resources

• MentalHealth.gov provides one-stop access to US government mental health information. The site includes resources for how to talk about mental health and how to get help.
• Mental Health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes basic public health information on mental health.
• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has information on how some health issues or conditions that are common to women and men affect women differently than men, including mental health.
• National Institute of Mental Health provides the latest information on research developments in mental health, along with free educational publications and other useful resources. Some examples of these resources are: Women and Mental Health, Multimedia about Mental Health, and Publications about Women’s Mental Health, Neuroimaging and Mental Illness: A Window Into the Brain.
• Office on Women’s Health, part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, provides information on women and mental health issues, including health issues specifically pertinent to women veterans.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and provides grants, publications, statistics, and programs for facilitating recovery for people with or at risk for mental or substance use disorders.

Professional Organizations

• American Board of Professional Psychology certifies psychologists as specialists in a given area, such as clinical child and adolescent psychology. Pages on each of the specialties they certify are available on their website.
• American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties and provides certification for general psychiatry, as well as subspecialties such as forensic psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and pain medicine.
• American Mental Health Counselors Association provides detailed information on the professional standards for becoming a mental health counselor. It publishes a journal, has state chapters, and advocates on behalf of mental health counselors nationwide.
• American Psychological Association is the world’s largest association of psychologists. Their website provides a wealth of information regarding the training needed to become a licensed psychologist, interesting careers in psychology, accredited degree-granting programs, and recent research findings in psychology.
• Association for Academic Psychiatry focuses on psychiatry education at every level, from medical students to practicing psychiatrists and other physicians. The organization hosts an annual conference and seeks to promote diversity in the profession.
• Clinical Social Work Association focuses on advocacy, education, and practice support exclusively to licensed clinical social workers (LCSW) and students enrolled in programs to become LCSWs.
• National Association of Social Workers is the largest professional organization of social workers in the world. The organization issues publications regarding professional standards and a code of ethics. It offers information and guidance for different areas of practice, such as clinical social work, and many different educational resources.
• National Board for Certified Counselors is a voluntary credentialing organization for professional counselors.
• National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology is a voluntary credentialing organization for licensed psychologists.