Dr. Ruby fearlessly rips the mask off mental health industry guilds. Combining evidence with powerful stories - including about himself - in straightforward and clear prose, he reveals what's in it for the guilds and Big Pharma and describes humane ways that really do help those who long for surcease from anguish. -Paula J. Caplan, Ph.D., author of They Say You're Crazy and The Myth of Women's Masochism
In Smoke and Mirrors, Dr. Ruby takes readers on a lucid, entertaining journey, artfully deconstructing the "mental illness" story that has been told to us for the past decades, and, at the same time, reminding us that to suffer and to struggle is to be human. By the book's end, readers will have one thought: please let an understanding of our common humanity be the philosophical foundation for a new psychiatry that will replace the old. -Robert Whitaker, Author of Mad in America and Anatomy of an Epidemic
Dr. Ruby exposes the muddled language that leads emotionally distressed people to seek drugs from physicians when they might seek counselors who teach from wisdom, example, and tested evidence. Against the seductive but dangerous trends of medicalized labels and fake disease constructs, Smoke and Mirrors helps persons to emancipate themselves from oppressive conditions by perfecting their speech, and therefore their thinking, about the human predicament. -David Cohen, Ph.D., Professor of Social Welfare, UCLA and co-author of Mad Science
Smoke and Mirrors is the best book on mental "health" and mental "illness" that I have read in the 45 years that I have been a clinical psychologist. It is also engagingly written. Although written for a lay audience, it should be required reading for all professionals in the field. I recommend it highly. -Irving Kirsch, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School, University of Connecticut, and University of Hull, author of The Emperor's New Drugs
Be warned... Dr. Ruby's Smoke and Mirrors exposes the orthodox mental health industry's deceptive claim that everyday distress and difficulties must be eradicated with medical treatment. The result is an explosion of chemical prescriptions causing diseases such as diabetes, gynecomastia, and tardive dyskinesia, which justify legal remedies. A must read! -Stephen Sheller, Esq., plaintiff's co-counsel in Murray vs. Janssen Pharmaceuticals and author of Big Pharma, Big Greed
Today, psychiatry's highest authorities admit that their "chemical imbalance theory of mental illness" is invalid. Smoke and Mirrors details how the mental health industry lacks any scientific underpinnings but is instead a religion - a morality crusade that makes arrogant assumptions about what aspects of our humanity are illnesses. -Bruce E. Levine, Ph.D., author of Resisting Illegitimate Authority
Dr. Ruby is the Mr. Spock of psychology. With unassailable logic, he tackles such topics as diagnoses, psychiatric drugs, psychotherapy, and even the nature of reality. Smoke and Mirrors deconstructs the unscientific and harmful mental illness industry and replaces it with a humane model of knowing and helping others. Fabulous! -Jim Gottstein, Esq., author of The Zyprexa Papers
Smoke and Mirrors provides a superb overview of the deceitful, dangerous practices at the heart of psychiatry and the mental health industry. Dr. Ruby carefully exposes the industry's myth-making and general chicanery, painting a vivid picture of what reimagined, more effective and more humane help might look like. Highly recommended! -Eric Maisel, Ph.D., author of The Future of Mental Health
