Danger to Self

On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist

By: Paul R. Linde

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

The psychiatric emergency room, a fast-paced combat zone with pressure to match, thrusts its medical providers into the outland of human experience where they must respond rapidly and decisively in spite of uncertainty and, very often, danger. In this lively first-person narrative, Paul R. Linde takes listeners behind the scenes at an urban psychiatric emergency room, with all its chaos and pathos, where we witness mental health professionals doing their best to alleviate suffering and repair shattered lives.

As he and his colleagues encounter patients who are hallucinating, drunk, catatonic, aggressive, suicidal, high on drugs, paranoid, and physically sick, Linde examines the many ethical, legal, moral, and medical issues that confront today's psychiatric providers. He describes a profession under siege from the outside - health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, government regulators, and even "patients' rights" advocates - and from the inside - biomedical and academic psychiatrists who have forgotten to care for the patient and have instead become checklist-marking pill-peddlers.

While lifting the veil on a crucial area of psychiatry that is as real as it gets, Danger to Self also injects a healthy dose of compassion into the practice of medicine and psychiatry.

©2010 Paul R. Linde (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Nice to know there are physicians who care

What did you love best about Danger to Self?

Despite how stressful the author's position is and how easy it is to burn out in his field, he still cares deeply for his patients and it shows in how he speaks about his career.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Danger to Self?

His description of a homeless man trying to be polite in turning down an inpatient treatment program for alcoholism. He is perceptive in reading the man's cues and doesn't become frustrated when the patient refuses treatment.

Could be shorter

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I liked three or four chapters about the cases, but other chapters go off on to a lot of cut and paste quotes about the industry and they are dull. Could be half as big.Really need a case like Hannibal Lector but I guess that is not really what goes on.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Aspects about Meth addiction, and comment on how doctors withhold treatment when resources are scarce.

Do you think Danger to Self needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

nope

Comprhensive Interesting Look at ER Psychiatry

I really enjoyed this book about an ER Psychiatrist. In addition to providing interesting case studies, the book touched on the practice of psychiatry, as well as legal and social issues. I felt that it provided a comprehensive look at the experience of the author in his field. This is one of the better books I have read on the subject.

Fascinating

The perfect accompaniment to my final few weeks of a nursing school acute inpatient psychiatric rotation. It was fascinating to see the process of the psychiatrist's thinking and to recognize how that differed from the nursing process I was learning.

Terrible narration

What would have made Danger to Self better?

I want to hear the book and strongly dislike narrators who fancy them selves actors with accents and over the top inflection in their voice.

Any additional comments?

As soon as I hit the narrators obnoxious rendition of a woman's southern accent I had to turn it off. Like nails on a chalkboard.

Not at all what I expected

More about psychotherapy, perhaps better for new psychotherapists or people looking to understand therapy and how it works

Read it, don’t listen to it.

The narrator is a turn off, but the content is interesting, though a bit dry at times.