The Protest Psychosis

The Protest Psychosis provides a rather in-depth look at the way schizophrenia has developed since it's development and how the disease reinforced racial stereotypes, especially in the 1960's and 1970's. Metzl takes an honest approach in his narrative and I appreciate that. His comprehensive and lengthy research could in no way be represented or reiterated in one book and he readily admits this. I liked his approach of citing specific case files, namely patients, to tell the story of how this disease changed over time and it's ramifications on society. Personally, I was very interested in the connection Metzl makes between the architecture of the institution and the activities that took place within. The fact that a hospital could easily transition and function as a prison, the way Ionia State Hospital morphed into Riverside Correctional Facility, is troubling. This aspect of the story alone provides insight as to what life was like for patients at the hospital. I would be interested in seeing additional photographs of the institution besides those included in the text.