Fixsen, Alison 2025. Julia E.H. Brown: The Clozapine Clinic: Health Agency in High-risk Conditions: Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. 49, pp. 940-944 49. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1007/s11013-025-09915-6
| Title | Julia E.H. Brown: The Clozapine Clinic: Health Agency in High-risk Conditions: |
|---|---|
| Type | Book review |
| Authors | Fixsen, Alison |
| Abstract | he Clozapine Clinic: Health agency in high-risk conditions by Julia EH Brown is adetailed account of time spent as an observer in clozapine clinics in the UK andAustralia. The book is divided into five interconnected parts:‘Health agency’,‘Bloodwork’;‘Embracing uncertainty’and ‘Finding rhythm, freeing oneself’. Besides informing usabout the science of clozapine and schizophrenia, there are numerous observations andaccounts of daily life in the clinic in which the physical management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia is the principle and stated aim. It is well known thatethnographers need to gain access to a ‘field’through gatekeepers. Methodologically,Brown’s fieldwork took place exclusively in these clinics, although she is keen to pointout how the two clinics operated in rather different ways. In all, 43 clozapine patients and16 clinical caregivers were interviewed. The author explains how she got to know thepeople (patient, phlebotomists, nurse, coordinators, psychiatrists and others) by “activelyparticipating in the field (clozapine clinics) as was practicable” (p. 19). This meant thattime was spent not just in the various clinical rooms, but also in leisure spaces such asshared lunches with the team and chats about philosophical matters with the residentpsychiatrist. Focusing on the social world of the clozapine clinic, Brown sets out toexplore what it means to live with the interpersonal challenges of psychosis and trauma,the risks of multi-morbidity and how clozapine clients can experience meaningful controlover their health. Julia E.H. Brown: The Clozapine Clinic: Health Agency in High-risk Conditions: Routledge, London, 2022, 248 Pages. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392574574_Julia_EH_Brown_Th... [accessed Nov 04 2025]. |
| Article number | 49 |
| Journal | Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry |
| Journal citation | 49, pp. 940-944 |
| ISSN | 1573-076X |
| 0165-005X | |
| Year | 2025 |
| Publisher | Springer Nature |
| Accepted author manuscript | File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1007/s11013-025-09915-6 |
| Web address (URL) | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11013-025-09915-6 |