Download or read book Charcot's Bad Idea written by Simon Overton and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2009-06-07 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book charts the ways in which the ideas of a 19th Century neurologist became enshrined in the thinking of modern neuropsychiatry. It looks at how the diagnosis of hysteria and conversion disorder was revitalised by a group of like-minded physicians under the terms of "functional weakness" and "functional neurological deficit" in order to "develop constructive ways of talking with patients". Overton claims this approach has fundamentally failed and the often hilarious jibes he makes at some sectors of the medical profession only highlight further the need for doctors to listen to their patients. "Deserves to be part of the literary canon"- Angela Kennedy