Havens: Stories of True Community Healing »

LEONARD A. JASON, Ph.D, is Professor of Psychology at DePaul University, in Chicago, where he heads the Center for Community Research. He has published more than 350 articles and has edited or authored 14 books. He has been a member of the editorial boards for seven peer-reviewed psychology journals, has served on review committees of the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health, and has received more than $16 million in federal grants to support his research. He is former president of the Division of Community Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

MARTIN PERDOUX, MAAT, is a writer and registered art therapist who has worked eight years in the fields of psychiatry and special education. His writing has been published in the Chicago Reader, The Reader's Guide to Arts and Entertainment, and Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. He is a Consulting Editor at Behavior Online, a forum for mental health professionals.

Thomas Moore (Care of the Soul) reminds readers that people in need are "...wounded souls, not twisted personalities." Psychologist Jason (DePaul U., Chicago) and art therapist Perdoux discuss reasons for the shrinkage of supportive American communities. As examples of a cost-effective health model, they present interview-based success stories of communities of peers (but not other support groups) coping with addiction, chronic illnesses, and aging. Appendices include resources and methodological notes on a participatory action research project on chronic fatigue syndrome. Annotation © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR