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November 9, 1962

Contribution to the Social Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill (1962)

Breggin, PR. (1962). The College Student and the Mental Health Patient. In Contribution to the Social Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill. Proceedings of the College Student Companion Program Conference, Connecticut State Dept of Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, Nov 7-9, 1962, Stratford Connecticut.

 This is Dr. Breggin’s first publication. An insightful quote therefrom: “The volunteer-patient relationships described in this paper occur between college students and mental patients on the back wards of a large state hospital. … I think the so-called ‘dementia’ and ‘hebephrenia’ often described as the natural end points of schizophrenia are really products of social isolation on the back wards of state mental hospitals. Added to this actual social deprivation is the patient’s knowledge that he is a deviant and that nothing more social is expected of him. Thus he not only loses mutual wish-fulfillment with other people, he actually begins to lose the expectation of it. The volunteer treats this problem directly. He brings personal experiences into the life of his patient, and he makes a direct assault upon the patient’s concept of himself as a social outcast.”

Full proceedings:
Breggin-1962-p.20-in-College-Student-Companion.pdf

Dr. Breggin’s chapter excerpted:
Breggin-1962-College-Student-Companion-excerpt.pdf