by Brian Balke | Oct 7, 2023 | Book Reviews
Broadly, psychology is concerned with understanding and influencing behavior. The specializations of psychiatry and psychotherapy narrow their concern to help us control behaviors that threaten our well-being. Psychiatry uses surgical and chemical interventions to...
by Brian Balke | Jan 14, 2023 | Book Reviews
Martin Seligman, presiding over the American Psychiatric Association, attempted to shift the focus of psychiatry from illness to wellness. As a counterweight to the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual (DSM), he produced an inventory of beneficial character traits. The...
by Brian Balke | Mar 15, 2022 | Book Reviews
Life Is complicated. That is true both as respects biology and society. The brain seeks to prioritize the signs arising from the world and to coordinate the body’s response to events. Because the world is complicated, the brain is complicated. Organizing that...
by Brian Balke | Mar 10, 2022 | Book Reviews
The human brain is a complex, organic, continuously evolving system. For those suffering mental conflict, this has practical consequences for the healing process. Complex: nobody can tell you exactly why you are suffering or how to recover. Organic: as it evolves, the...
by Brian Balke | Nov 25, 2021 | Book Reviews
When addressing injuries, modern medical technology is miraculous. Setting bones, restoring heart beats, and healing burns are all gifts to those that suffer them. But in the face of chronic disease, modern medicine struggles. For sufferers of neurological or...
by Brian Balke | Nov 12, 2021 | Book Reviews
“In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts” explores the nature of addiction. Gabor Maté is a physician and activist who serves those ground down by the War on Drugs, personalities blown around the streets like loose-leaf sheets. Recognizing and frustrated by the addict’s...
