If someone who has never been in a psych ward were to make a visit, they would get the impression that there is nothing going on except for patients walking around like zombies and that the staff are uncaring and look the other way, leaving patients to fend for themselves. But the reality of the matter is that there is some type of organization. Patients are not left alone to fend for themselves; after all mentally ill people are dependents and cannot truly function without support; whether that support is direct or indirect.

The Psych Ward Chronicles is a factual account of events that took place at a well-known psychiatric centre in New York City. Originally a student journal that documented the activities and experiences of the student Intern (True George) and presented during the classroom portion of the Internship; accounts were re-edited and presented on the blog True George. The accounts were well received by the blogging community and after receiving encouragement the accounts were re-edited again and now it is presented in book form.

Designed to be read as short stories, the book paints a picture of what the characters are going through at that moment in time. The characters names are fictitious to conceal the identities of the patients. The first chapter introduces that Psych Ward as a state-sponsored setup; the above paragraph is the opening of that chapter. The second paragraph is some of the book’s introduction.

The Psychiatric Hospital where the accounts took place was notorious for abuse back in the 1960s but at the time that I interned there, I did not know anything about its reputation. I would not have picked the place if I had known. The State cleaned up their act, there was no evidence of patient abuse. Besides, there are independent organizations watching who also serve as whistleblowers if the state starts to slip backwards. The notion of Hospital workers walking around wearing white uniforms and beating up patients who become disruptive is a thing of the past if it even existed. But that was the impression that was stuck in my mind that was put there by the Hollywood production of “One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”  One can imagine the impression of a Psych Ward. The Hollywood impression quickly evaporated as I got acclimated to the Psych Ward environment.

Interacting with the mentally ill can be interesting, conversations with some of them can get so deep that you’ll say to yourself how can this person be in the Psych Ward; but then they would say something that reminds you why they are there in the first place. I learned that mentally ill people have a problem with their mental state which does not necessarily compromise their intelligence, or their ability to premeditate whatever they do.

The Psych Ward Chronicles is my first publication; whether it becomes a hit or miss I plan to publish more. There are some plans in the work for my next publication.

Available now on Amazon.com in paperback and for Kindle

About the author

Originally from Small Heath located in City of Birmingham in the West Midlands part of the United Kingdom; and now living and working in New York City as a government bureaucrat and Mental Health Counselor. A Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and retired from the Army National Guard. I started to publicly reveal some of my writings and thoughts on my blog True George.

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