A bibliography of mental patients' autobiographies: an update and classification system

OBJECTIVE: This article brings to the present earlier bibliographies of books written by former mental patients. These books provide an inside view of mental disorder that can be useful in teaching, public education, theory, and research, and they have played a catalyzing role in mental health reform and in theory development. METHOD: The authors list seven anthologies and 48 autobiographies of former patients published since 1980 and introduce a classification system intended to increase the research value of this important archive. RESULTS: Recent books of this genre show more individuals with a mood disorder and more therapists and more women as authors. CONCLUSIONS: The research potential of these books suggests the value of an electronic database for classifying and retrieving the information they contain.