Just a few generations ago, serious illness, like hazardous weather, arrived with little warning, and people either lived through it or died. In this important, convincing, and long-overdue call for health care reform, Joanne Lynn demonstrates that our current health system, like our concepts of health and disease, developed at a time when life was mostly short, serious illnesses and disabilities were common at every age, and dying was quick. Today, most Americans live a long life, with the disabilities and discomforts of progressive chronic illness appearing only during the final chapters of their life stories. Sick to Death and Not Going to Take It Anymore! maintains that health care and community services are not set up to meet the needs of the large number of people who face a prolonged period of progressive illness and disability before death. Lynn offers what she calls an "owner's manual for the health care system," which lays out facts, concepts, strategies, and action plans for genuine reform and gives the reader new ways to interpret information creatively, imagine innovative possibilities, and take steps to implement them.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life globally through virus-related mortality and morbidity and the social and economic impacts of actions taken to stop the virus’ spread. It became evident early on during the pandemic that older adults are especially vulnerable to morbidity and mortality from COVID-19, and the adverse consequences of strategies taken to mitigate its effects. While no more likely to become infected than younger populations, the risk for hospitalization and death rises considerably with age. Residents of long-term care facilities have been among the hardest hit. The pandemic has brought many facets of ageism to the fore. Community stay-at-home messages, lockdowns, social distancing requirements, and visitation restrictions contributed to a concomitant epidemic in social isolation and loneliness. Economic and social impacts have been dramatic; so too has been the disproportionate hardship experienced by members of racial and ethnic minority communities. This book reports original empirical research and perspectives on the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the older adult population, and draws lessons for policy, research, and practice. Key issues pertaining to the impact of COVID-19 on older adults and their families, caregivers, and communities are highlighted. Four main areas are examined: personal experiences with COVID-19; long-term care system impacts; end-of-life care; and technology and innovation. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the ways that health policy has been shaped by the political, socioeconomic, and ideological environment of the United States. The roles played by public and private, institutional and individual actors in designing the healthcare system are identified at all levels. The book addresses the key problems of healthcare cost, access, and quality through analyses of Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Health Administration, and other programs, and the ethical and cost implications of advances in healthcare technology. This fully updated fourth edition gives expanded attention to the fiscal and financial impact of high healthcare costs and the struggle for healthcare reform, culminating in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, with preliminary discussion of implementation issues associated with the Affordable Care Act as well as attempts to defund and repeal it. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and a comprehensive reference list. Helpful appendices provide a guide to websites and a chronology. PowerPoint slides and other instructional materials are available to instructors who adopt the book.

This is an interesting book. It may be useful for those who have not followed the debate on the experience of women in psychiatric services. It provides useful information on ways of working with more disturbed women. These are women whom psychiatric services often avoid or at least with whom they do little constructive work. The emphasis on offering therapy to these women instead of a bed in an institution was refreshing. --Andrea Bennett in Clinical Psychology Forum How can counselors and clinicians help empower women in a sexist, racist, and homophobic society? How can they help women reclaim their bodies? Or repair their violated bond with womenkind? Taking feminist therapy one step further, this enlightening volume focuses on a central problem in our society--violence against women--and explores practical, feminist ways of working with women′s responses to it: depression, cutting, splitting, troubled eating, and protest. Radical Feminist Therapy explores issues that are usually either omitted or pathologized in generalist feminist counseling texts such as women battered by their pimps, women who self-mutilate, and psychiatrized women. Other topics covered are working with lesbians; American Indian, African American, Jewish, and immigrant women; women with disabilities; working with heterosexual couples; sexual violation by therapists; and working with suicidal clients. A list of recommended readings follows each chapter. Radical Feminist Therapy addresses the needs of both students and practitioners in the areas of psychology, counseling, social work, and women′s studies who desire a comprehensive, enlightening text they will refer to again and again. "Burstow′s book should prove very useful as a resource for practitioners in a wide variety of areas dealing with violence against women. . . . The first part of the book presents the theoretical foundations; the remaining 12 chapters integrate theory and practice. Written from a well-articulated radical feminist position, the text is grounded in structuralist theory that situates problems in living within the systematic oppressions of classism, sexism, and racism. Respect for women and for their right to make their own decisions in therapy permeates the text." --Choice "This book fills a gap in the literature addressed by no other publication I have seen. There are numerous theoretical books on feminist counseling or therapy. But I have seen nothing which moves from theory to clear, practical suggestions on what to do and how to do it when working with women on different problems. Bonnie begins by presenting a clear feminist framework in which she sees violence against women in our society as the central problem in all women′s lives. She explains how this core issue plays itself out in different areas of women′s lives and how it is central to the personal problems women struggle with. She then goes on to give practical, concrete suggestions about how to actually work with women in therapy. She warns readers of common pitfalls and how to avoid them. It is an extremely cohesive and useful piece of work." --Linda Advokaat, Feminist Counselor, Sessional Instructor, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada "As a presentation of theory translated into casework, this is the best I have seen in its field--a deft integration of politics and philosophy, made relevant and workable in the chosen context." --Counselling