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Tigger on the Couch: The Neuroses, Psychoses, Maladies and Disorders of Our Favourite Children's Characters | 
| Author: Laura James
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: £9.99
Buy New: £6.99
You Save: £3.00 (30%)
New (35) Used (7) from £3.53
Avg. Customer Rating:  8 reviews
Sales Rank: 58696
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0007248954
Dewey Decimal Number: 616.8900207
EAN: 9780007248957
ASIN: 0007248954
Publication Date: October 1, 2007
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
Fun, light-hearted, and informative July 4, 2008
I bought this lively, charming book as a gift for a close friend who has struggled with a variety of mental health difficulties for years. She has been misdiagnosed twice, with unfortunate and frightening consequences, and I thought that this good-humoured spoof on the tendency to label everything that moves would cheer her up. She was amused to discover that she shares a diagnosis with some beloved childhood characters.
Thanks to its friendly, accessible, and imaginative style, 'Tigger on the Couch' will also do a great deal to remove some of the stigma that is attached to various mental health conditions - which, according to James, was the reason why she wrote the book. She is related to somebody who has experienced mental health problems and wanted to change public perceptions of such difficulties. This is just the book to do it.
No, it's not a textbook. It's not a diagnostic manual. It's not intended to be. If you are a qualified psychologist or some other mental health professional, buy something that is explicitly targeted at you - but bear in mind that you don't have to have be a doctor or have a degree to write about mental health problems. They can affect anyone, either directly or indirectly - just as they affected Laura James. The perspective of a clinician may be valuable, but that doesn't mean that the perspective of an interested and compassionate layperson is useless.
 Nonsense written by someone with no relevant qualifications April 20, 2008
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
It's a shame that Ms James felt she should to author a book that she is unqualified to write. "Author, Journalist and Magazine editor" (from the book itself) Laura James should stick to subjects she knows something about, and leave psychology and psychiatry to those of us who are actually qualified to write about it.
Her ludicrous misunderstanding of even the most basic psychiatric concepts would be laughable if they weren't so potentially damaging. Her notions of the characters here being 'ill' are nonsense, and show that she does not understand that psychopathology is culturally situated. Winnie the Pooh lives well in his space and culture, with a house, good friends, enough food etc. He is happy and has a fulfilling life. Drug and behavior therapy (as she suggests) would not be indicated, and the very notion that they would is repugnant.
I think Ms James has misunderstood the purpose of psychology and psychiatry. It is not to indoctrinate, and failing that to drug, everyone into some bland conformity, but rather to relieve distress. Her 'case studies' demonstrate her simple misunderstanding of this basic point.
I was further distressed to note that she has also failed to research her source material sufficiently. Winnie the Pooh's songs do not "Cause distress to his friends and neighbors" (p.49) rather they are often pleased by them and request them to mark special occasions. The whole book is replete with these kinds of errors of fact, which makes her laughable interpretations all the more ludicrous.
What concerns me most is that some people will understandably buy this book in the belief that the contents are an accessible introduction to a series of facts. They are not. Consequently, I shall not be recommending it in my own practice. I urge you instead to buy one of the many quality introductory works available that are written by people who have some basic knowledge of (and qualification in) the subject.
 Very fun! October 15, 2007
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Having heard Chris Evans say on his show that he's tkaing this book on his honeymoon, I decided to check it out. I found the individual case studies really funny, it made me laugh out lould. On a more serious note the book also makes the subject of mental illness a lot more accessible, without downplaying it.
pull up a chair and tell me why you bounce so much? October 11, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
what a superb idea and a great way to deal with some important issues in an interesting and approachable way. It probably isnt going to become the standard text book for the British Psychological Society but somehow I dont think that was the intention.
Thoroughly enjoyable October 11, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
A very enjoyable, insightful and interesting read. I discovered a lot about psychological disorders and it was really thought-provoking. Definitely a book I would recommend.
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