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Psychotherapy and Aphasia: Interventions for Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships
by Kate H. Meredith Giles YeatesPsychotherapy and Aphasia: Interventions for Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships is an exciting international collaboration among clinical neuropsychologists, speech and language therapists and family therapists that details a range of innovative psychotherapeutic interventions to enable people with communication disorders and their families to access meaningful support. People with aphasia and other acquired communication disorders can face significant challenges accessing emotional support. Many traditional forms of psychotherapy are based on spoken language, rendering it inaccessible for many people with communication disorders. But the book details a range of techniques that move away from reliance on spoken language, including total communication strategies, the use of meaningful objects, experiential process, group experience and mind-body practices. Featuring clinical examples which cover a range of stroke and neurology service contexts, the book includes contributions from a range of therapeutic models; from speech and language therapy and family therapy to clinical neuropsychology, cognitive-behavioural, systemic, narrative and mind-body traditions. It therefore provides clinicians with a wide-range of practical and theoretical tools to explore when supporting survivors who experience psychological distress during rehabilitation. It is the only book aimed at both speech and language therapists and psychotherapists, and will open up new pathways to support.
Psychotherapy and Aphasia: Interventions for Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships
by Kate H. Meredith Giles N. YeatesPsychotherapy and Aphasia: Interventions for Emotional Wellbeing and Relationships is an exciting international collaboration among clinical neuropsychologists, speech and language therapists and family therapists that details a range of innovative psychotherapeutic interventions to enable people with communication disorders and their families to access meaningful support. People with aphasia and other acquired communication disorders can face significant challenges accessing emotional support. Many traditional forms of psychotherapy are based on spoken language, rendering it inaccessible for many people with communication disorders. But the book details a range of techniques that move away from reliance on spoken language, including total communication strategies, the use of meaningful objects, experiential process, group experience and mind-body practices. Featuring clinical examples which cover a range of stroke and neurology service contexts, the book includes contributions from a range of therapeutic models; from speech and language therapy and family therapy to clinical neuropsychology, cognitive-behavioural, systemic, narrative and mind-body traditions. It therefore provides clinicians with a wide-range of practical and theoretical tools to explore when supporting survivors who experience psychological distress during rehabilitation. It is the only book aimed at both speech and language therapists and psychotherapists, and will open up new pathways to support.
Psychotherapy and Buddhism: Toward an Integration (Issues in the Practice of Psychology)
by Jeffrey B. RubinThere is currently a burgeoning interest in the relationship between the Western psychotherapeutic and Buddhist meditative traditions among therapists, researchers, and spiritual seekers. Psychotherapy and Buddhism initiates a conversation between these two modern methods of achieving greater self-understanding and peace of mind. Dr. Jeffrey B. Rubin explores how they might be combined to better serve patients in therapy and adherents to a spiritual way of life. He examines the strengths and limitations of each tradition through three contexts: the nature of self, conception of ideal health, and process of achieving optimal health. The volume features the first two cases of Buddhists in psychoanalytic treatment.
Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression
by Professor Paul Gilbert`Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! I would thoroughly recommend this book to any other counsellor of psychotherapist. It is described on the back cover as 'outstanding', 'valuable' and an 'essential resource' and I would fully endorse all of these descriptions. I have been qualified for 10 years and have had extensive client experience, but feel I have gained so much from Gilbert's wisdom on this topic. It is excellent value for money and again I would recommend it to any practitioner' - The Independent Practitioner 'This book takes the reader gently but thoroughly through the biopsychosocial processes that underpin depression. Excellent worksheets and information sheets are provided as appendices. [It] is a valuable resource for those who already work with depression and essential reading for those considering working in this field' - Therapy Today `Paul Gilbert provides the reader with a refreshingly wide-ranging, integrative and up-to-date understanding of the nature, assessment and treatment of depression. All psychological therapists will benefit from reading his important book' - Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal `Paul Gilbert writes in a scholarly, yet accessible, style on the bio-psychosocial perspectives of depression. I agree with him that knowledge of such areas is crucial to being able to work effectively with people experiencing depression' - Nursing Standard, 5 star review `Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition by the distinguished psychologist, Paul Gilbert, is an outstanding contribution to the field. I read this book with great enthusiasm and interest - and, I must acknowledge - admiration. All clinicians will benefit from reading this valuable book' - Robert L. Leahy, President, International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy Paul Gilbert's Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition is a popular and practical guide to working with people suffering from depression. The book is based on a wealth of research into evolutionary, cognitive, behavioural and emotion-focused approaches to depression. It outlines how to work with general negativity, sense of failure and abandonment, and feelings of powerlessness, anger, shame and guilt The book examines the essential stages of the therapeutic process from conceptualization and formulation through to a wide variety of interventions for different types of difficulty. It has been greatly revised, expanded and updated for the Third Edition and: o explores in depth the biopsychosocial processes underpinning depression o shows how a compassionate mind approach can be incorporated into different types of therapy o includes a new chapter focusing on the role of the therapeutic relationship, including therapeutic dialogues o features detailed guidance with case examples on how to work with a wide variety of depressions. Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition is an essential resource and comprehensive guide for practitioners and anyone involved with treating depression. Paul Gilbert is Professor of Psychology in the Mental Health Research Unit at Kingsway Hospital, Derby.
Psychotherapy And Counselling For Depression (PDF)
by Paul GilbertPaul Gilbert's Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition is a popular and practical guide to working with people suffering from depression. The book is based on a wealth of research into evolutionary, cognitive, behavioural and emotion-focused approaches to depression.p>
Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression (PDF)
by Professor Paul Gilbert`Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! I would thoroughly recommend this book to any other counsellor of psychotherapist. It is described on the back cover as 'outstanding', 'valuable' and an 'essential resource' and I would fully endorse all of these descriptions. I have been qualified for 10 years and have had extensive client experience, but feel I have gained so much from Gilbert's wisdom on this topic. It is excellent value for money and again I would recommend it to any practitioner' - The Independent Practitioner 'This book takes the reader gently but thoroughly through the biopsychosocial processes that underpin depression. Excellent worksheets and information sheets are provided as appendices. [It] is a valuable resource for those who already work with depression and essential reading for those considering working in this field' - Therapy Today `Paul Gilbert provides the reader with a refreshingly wide-ranging, integrative and up-to-date understanding of the nature, assessment and treatment of depression. All psychological therapists will benefit from reading his important book' - Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal `Paul Gilbert writes in a scholarly, yet accessible, style on the bio-psychosocial perspectives of depression. I agree with him that knowledge of such areas is crucial to being able to work effectively with people experiencing depression' - Nursing Standard, 5 star review `Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition by the distinguished psychologist, Paul Gilbert, is an outstanding contribution to the field. I read this book with great enthusiasm and interest - and, I must acknowledge - admiration. All clinicians will benefit from reading this valuable book' - Robert L. Leahy, President, International Association for Cognitive Psychotherapy Paul Gilbert's Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition is a popular and practical guide to working with people suffering from depression. The book is based on a wealth of research into evolutionary, cognitive, behavioural and emotion-focused approaches to depression. It outlines how to work with general negativity, sense of failure and abandonment, and feelings of powerlessness, anger, shame and guilt The book examines the essential stages of the therapeutic process from conceptualization and formulation through to a wide variety of interventions for different types of difficulty. It has been greatly revised, expanded and updated for the Third Edition and: o explores in depth the biopsychosocial processes underpinning depression o shows how a compassionate mind approach can be incorporated into different types of therapy o includes a new chapter focusing on the role of the therapeutic relationship, including therapeutic dialogues o features detailed guidance with case examples on how to work with a wide variety of depressions. Psychotherapy and Counselling for Depression, Third Edition is an essential resource and comprehensive guide for practitioners and anyone involved with treating depression. Paul Gilbert is Professor of Psychology in the Mental Health Research Unit at Kingsway Hospital, Derby.
Psychotherapy and Culture: Weaving Inner and Outer Worlds
by Zack Eleftheriadouthis book focuses on cross-cultural relationships and examines how culture and racial factors manifest in the clinical setting. It discusses on how to work with both cross-cultural differentiation and integration.
Psychotherapy and its Discontents (UK Higher Education OUP Humanities & Social Sciences Counselling and Psychotherapy)
by Windy Dryden Colin FelthamPsychotherapists and critics of psychotherapy outline their views and answer their adversaries. The critics draw attention to the inadequacy of research validating the results of psychotherapy and argue that no treatment at all may be as effective as therapy, that some people's experience of therapy is harmful, that there is a preciousness and pretentiousness about many psychotherapists, that psychotherapists may be flawed and exploitative, that psychotherapy is anachronistically detached from the new-paradigm views, and that psychotherapy embodies a form of psychological reductionism that weakens its credibility. The object of this book is to reduce the antagonism between the two camps so that future debate can be more constructive than hitherto. The contributors are Michael Barkham, Ian Craib, Gill Edwards, Albert Ellis, Hans Eysenck, Stephen Frosh, Sol Garfield, Ernest Gellner, Jeremy Holmes, Paul Kline, Katherine Mair, Jeffrey Masson, David Pilgrim, Jeff Roberts, John Rowan, David Shapiro and Stuart Sutherland.
Psychotherapy and Medication: The Challenge of Integration (Psychoanalytic Inquiry Book Series)
by Fredric N. Busch Larry S. SandbergOver the past two decades, the use of medication combined with psychotherapy or psychoanalysis has shifted from an infrequent occurrence to common practice. Concurrently, attitudes toward medication have changed from viewing this intervention as disruptive or as a last resort to a welcome aid in the psychotherapeutic or psychoanalytic process. However, this relatively rapid change has created difficulty in the integration of medication use into the psychotherapeutic setting. Psychotherapy and Medication is an exceptionally valuable and timely volume that provides psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals with information on how to work with medication theoretically, clinically, and technically in the context of a psychotherapeutic or psychoanalytic treatment. Important areas of discussion include evidence that a change in the use of medication has taken place, an examination of the factors that have led to this shift, as well as a review of the issues and questions about combining treatments. Psychotherapy and Medication also serves as a framework in how to best answer the many questions that have arisen as the willingness of analysts to use medication increases. Such significant questions include: How should analysts introduce patients to medication? What are the clinical advantages of combined treatment? What is the impact of medication discussions and prescribing on the analyst’s role and how is this best handled?
Psychotherapy and Medication: The Challenge of Integration (Psychoanalytic Inquiry Book Series #Vol. 22)
by Fredric N. Busch Larry S. SandbergOver the past two decades, the use of medication combined with psychotherapy or psychoanalysis has shifted from an infrequent occurrence to common practice. Concurrently, attitudes toward medication have changed from viewing this intervention as disruptive or as a last resort to a welcome aid in the psychotherapeutic or psychoanalytic process. However, this relatively rapid change has created difficulty in the integration of medication use into the psychotherapeutic setting. Psychotherapy and Medication is an exceptionally valuable and timely volume that provides psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, and other mental health professionals with information on how to work with medication theoretically, clinically, and technically in the context of a psychotherapeutic or psychoanalytic treatment. Important areas of discussion include evidence that a change in the use of medication has taken place, an examination of the factors that have led to this shift, as well as a review of the issues and questions about combining treatments. Psychotherapy and Medication also serves as a framework in how to best answer the many questions that have arisen as the willingness of analysts to use medication increases. Such significant questions include: How should analysts introduce patients to medication? What are the clinical advantages of combined treatment? What is the impact of medication discussions and prescribing on the analyst’s role and how is this best handled?
Psychotherapy and Politics (PDF)
by Mr Nick Totton`This is one of the most comprehensive books that I have read that addresses the relationship between therapies, the social and the political. Comprehensive in the sense that it covers many areas in short but succinct chapters which focus on particular relationships in the field. It is, in some way, a textbook, rather than a monograph and I would imagine that students of the field would find it a useful source of reference that they would return to time and again' - Psychotherapy & Politics `SAGE's invariably stimulating book series 'Perspectives in Psychotherapy', edited by Colin Feltham, is certainly fortunate to be graced by the latest addition from Nick Totton, who offers us a tour de force of the diverse and manifold ways in which therapy and politics interpenetrate and inform each other' - Richard House, Self & Society `This is a truly outstanding book. In a world riven with anger, hatred, fear and aggression it provides a window of rationality, inspired by intelligence, understanding and humanistic principles' - The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy `This stimulating addition to SAGE's catalogues aims to give the practising counsellor/therapist a multi-dimensional overview of the various ways in which the political and psychotherapeutic worlds interface' - Association for University and College Counselling Newsletter This stimulating book explores the long-standing relationship between psychotherapy and politics and argues that from the beginning psychotherapy has had a political face. Documenting instances where ideas from psychotherapy have been incorporated into the political agenda, the book demonstrates the practical value of psychotherapy as an instigator of social and political change. Related to this, attempts to understand and evaluate political life through the application of psychotherapeutic concepts are examined. The author poses a number of key questions, including: What is human nature? Are aggression and violence innate in us? Is the therapeutic relationship inherently unequal? And, is the political an appropriate topic for therapy and counselling?
Psychotherapy and Science (PDF)
by Dr Rob Langs`This book issues a challenge to anyone in the field of psychotherapy who is resigned to seeing psychotherapy as solely a service activity or an art or craft. Instead, Langs invites us to see that psychotherapy, clinical technique and practice may have intricate and fundamental conditions to the scientific laws of nature and the universe. This work will also be of value to those psychotherapists who are interested in asking research questions about the process and technique of psychotherapy. It is also a refreshing read in a postmodern era where the pursuit of validity and fundamental laws seems to have gone out of fashion' - New Therapist
Psychotherapy and Spiritual Direction: Two Languages, One Voice? (The\united Kingdom Council For Psychotherapy Ser.)
by Lynette HarborneThis book explores the similarities and differences between the practice of psychotherapy and spiritual direction and suggests that, whilst there may be distinctions between the two activities, the process is essentially the same. The purpose of the book is to improve the understanding between therapists and spiritual directors, to encourage dialogue and discussion between them, as well as to offer challenges and learning to both. In the process of exploring the interface between the practice of therapy and the practice of spiritual direction, questions arise about how to address issues of spirituality in a psychological context and psychological issues in a spiritual context. A brief overview of the historical background to spiritual direction is given, and attention drawn to the links between this tradition and the development of psychotherapy. Spiritual issues that may arise in therapy together with psychological issues that occur during spiritual direction are discussed, leading on to a comparison between 'dark night of the soul' experiences and clinical depression.
Psychotherapy and Spiritual Direction: Two Languages, One Voice?
by Lynette HarborneThis book explores the similarities and differences between the practice of psychotherapy and spiritual direction and suggests that, whilst there may be distinctions between the two activities, the process is essentially the same. The purpose of the book is to improve the understanding between therapists and spiritual directors, to encourage dialogue and discussion between them, as well as to offer challenges and learning to both. In the process of exploring the interface between the practice of therapy and the practice of spiritual direction, questions arise about how to address issues of spirituality in a psychological context and psychological issues in a spiritual context. A brief overview of the historical background to spiritual direction is given, and attention drawn to the links between this tradition and the development of psychotherapy. Spiritual issues that may arise in therapy together with psychological issues that occur during spiritual direction are discussed, leading on to a comparison between 'dark night of the soul' experiences and clinical depression.
Psychotherapy and Spirituality: Integrating the Spiritual Dimension into Therapeutic Practice (PDF)
by Agneta Schreurs Malcolm Pines'Organizing her text into four parts, Schreurs invites the attentive reader to engage the book's insights on the existential and relational levels. Rich with vignettes, this intriguing work may speak to both believers and nonbelievers... The book, rich with bibliography and endnotes, will prove valuable to graduate students in psychology and theology alike.' - Theological Studies 'This clear and engaging book is essential reading for all therapists who feel out of their depth when patients raise spiritual concerns.' - Religion & Theology 'Somewhat more practical in its emphasis on integrating the spiritual dimension in therapeutic practice is Agneta Schreurs' Psychotherapy and Spirituality (Jessica Kingsley). Informed from a Christian theological background and the therapeutic orientation of group analysis this book sets out to study the interface between psychotherapy and spirituality. It focuses on understanding and differentiating the nature of religious/spiritual issues that may arise for people in the present western cultural and historical context of psychotherapy and also considers how these may be approached by the therapist. A number of complex conceptual issues are examined and these are frequently illustrated with vignettes from the therapeutic material. Although restricted in its orientation to the western Christian tradition the book elaborates a wide range of fundamental issues and provides a good starting point for further reading in related fields. - Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy 'Schreurs presents a variety of vignettes, mostly - but not exclusively - about clinical situations, and invites the reader to explore his or her responses. In the process she reveals the differences, similarities and, most intriguingly, the overlaps between the spiritual and the therapeutic: specifically group analytic paradigms. Such a synthesis is long overdue. This is a book that all mental health practitioners should read.' - Mental Health This detailed study of the interface between psychotherapy and spirituality introduces professionally trained psychotherapists and mental health specialists to the subject of spirituality and the influence it may have in a therapeutic context. The majority of psychotherapists receive no formal training in the psychology of religion and many studies report that most psychotherapists either avoid the theme of religion, or handle it with insufficient skill, feeling uncomfortable and ill-equipped to deal with the spiritual concerns of patients. Psychotherapy and Spirituality contributes to the development of professional know-how in the field of spirituality in a straightforward and practical way, avoiding complex doctrinal terminology. Schreurs focuses primarily on the connections between group analysis and mainstream Christianity, while bearing in mind the wider implications of other therapeutic schools and other spiritual traditions. She presents a range of therapeutic situations, analogies and case-studies in which spiritual concerns may arise, and explores them from a spiritual and a psychological perspective, showing where and how they connect and differ. This clear and engaging book is essential reading for all therapists who feel out of their depth when patients raise spiritual concerns.
Psychotherapy and the Everyday Life: A Guide for the Puzzled Consumer
by Rami Aronzon Emily BudickThis book helps the patient of psychotherapeutic intervention to stay with the therapy beyond both the initial satisfactions and the initial frustrations that the process entails. It serves as a guide for patients of psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy and the Everyday Life: A Guide for the Puzzled Consumer
by Rami Aronzon Emily BudickThis book helps the patient of psychotherapeutic intervention to stay with the therapy beyond both the initial satisfactions and the initial frustrations that the process entails. It serves as a guide for patients of psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy.
Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person: Improving Outcomes for That Minority of People Who Are the Majority of Clients
by Elaine N. AronDr. Elaine Aron’s newest book, Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person, redefines the term “highly sensitive” for the professional researcher and practitioner. She dispels common misconceptions about the relationship between sensitivity and other personality traits, such as introversion and shyness, and further defines the trait for the benefit of both the clinician and patient. Readers will learn to assess for the trait, distinguish it from clinical diagnoses such as panic disorder or avoidant personality disorder, understand how sensitivity may change the presentation of a problem such as depression or shyness, and generally inform, validate, and improve the quality of life for these clients. She pays particular attention to self-esteem issues and helping patients separate effects of their innate temperament from problems due to their personal learning histories. Dr. Aron keeps both patient and practitioner in mind as she suggests ways to adapt treatment for highly sensitive persons and how to deal with the typical issues that arise. Three appendices provide the HSP Scale, a summary of the extensive research on this innate trait, and its relation to DSM diagnoses. Through this helpful guide, therapists will see a marked improvement in their ability to assist highly sensitive clients.
Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person: Improving Outcomes for That Minority of People Who Are the Majority of Clients
by Elaine N. AronDr. Elaine Aron’s newest book, Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person, redefines the term “highly sensitive” for the professional researcher and practitioner. She dispels common misconceptions about the relationship between sensitivity and other personality traits, such as introversion and shyness, and further defines the trait for the benefit of both the clinician and patient. Readers will learn to assess for the trait, distinguish it from clinical diagnoses such as panic disorder or avoidant personality disorder, understand how sensitivity may change the presentation of a problem such as depression or shyness, and generally inform, validate, and improve the quality of life for these clients. She pays particular attention to self-esteem issues and helping patients separate effects of their innate temperament from problems due to their personal learning histories. Dr. Aron keeps both patient and practitioner in mind as she suggests ways to adapt treatment for highly sensitive persons and how to deal with the typical issues that arise. Three appendices provide the HSP Scale, a summary of the extensive research on this innate trait, and its relation to DSM diagnoses. Through this helpful guide, therapists will see a marked improvement in their ability to assist highly sensitive clients.
Psychotherapy and the Lonely Patient
by Samuel M Natale E Mark SternHere is an important new book focusing on the contribution of the therapist's love and empathy to the therapeutic process. Technique without dedication, discipline, and understanding will rarely benefit patients nor help resolve their conflicts. Psychoanalytic Technique demonstrates how the therapist's countertransference feelings, anxieties, wishes, and superego admonitions shape his or her therapeutic interventions.
Psychotherapy and the Lonely Patient
by Samuel M Natale E Mark SternHere is an important new book focusing on the contribution of the therapist's love and empathy to the therapeutic process. Technique without dedication, discipline, and understanding will rarely benefit patients nor help resolve their conflicts. Psychoanalytic Technique demonstrates how the therapist's countertransference feelings, anxieties, wishes, and superego admonitions shape his or her therapeutic interventions.
Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness
by Emmy Van Deurzen"A passionate and thought-provoking book, particularly in our present economic climate" - Therapy Today, May 2009 "A vibrant, passionate, and hugely readable text which goes to the heart of the therapeutic project: how to help clients lead fuller and more meaningful lives" - Mick Cooper, Professor of Counselling at University of Strathclyde The unspoken yearning that brings people to therapy is often that of a desperate desire for happiness. Should therapists ignore this desire, interpret it or challenge it? And what does our preoccupation with happiness tell us about contemporary culture and the role of the therapist? In this book, Emmy van Deurzen addresses the taboo subject of the moral role of psychotherapists and counsellors. Asking when and why we decided that the aim of life is to be happy, she poses searching questions about the meaning of life. Psychotherap y and the Quest for Happiness seeks to define what a good life consists of and how therapists might help their clients to live well rather than just in search of happiness. This text makes stimulating reading for all trainee and practising counsellors and psychotherapists, especially those interested in the existential approach. Emmy van Deurzen is Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Conflict and Reconciliation, and honorary Professor at the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield
Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness (PDF)
by Emmy Van DeurzenShould therapists ignore this desire, interpret it or challenge it And what does our preoccupation with happiness tell us about contemporary culture and the role of the therapist? In this book, Emmy van Deurzen addresses the taboo subject of the moral role of psychotherapists and counsellors. Asking when and why we decided that the aim of life is to be happy, she poses searching questions about the meaning of life.
Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness (PDF)
by Emmy Van Deurzen"A passionate and thought-provoking book, particularly in our present economic climate" - Therapy Today, May 2009 "A vibrant, passionate, and hugely readable text which goes to the heart of the therapeutic project: how to help clients lead fuller and more meaningful lives" - Mick Cooper, Professor of Counselling at University of Strathclyde The unspoken yearning that brings people to therapy is often that of a desperate desire for happiness. Should therapists ignore this desire, interpret it or challenge it? And what does our preoccupation with happiness tell us about contemporary culture and the role of the therapist? In this book, Emmy van Deurzen addresses the taboo subject of the moral role of psychotherapists and counsellors. Asking when and why we decided that the aim of life is to be happy, she poses searching questions about the meaning of life. Psychotherap y and the Quest for Happiness seeks to define what a good life consists of and how therapists might help their clients to live well rather than just in search of happiness. This text makes stimulating reading for all trainee and practising counsellors and psychotherapists, especially those interested in the existential approach. Emmy van Deurzen is Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Conflict and Reconciliation, and honorary Professor at the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield
Psychotherapy and the Social Clinic in the United States: Soothing Fictions
by William M. EpsteinThis book offers a compelling critical analysis of American society by examining the role of psychotherapy within social policy and the culture that has fashioned it. It takes a deeply critical look at ‘the social clinic,’ defined here as a ubiquitous organizational arrangement that includes clinical and community psychology, counseling, clinical social work, psychiatry, much of the self-help industry, complementary and alternative medicine and others. Epstein’s analysis concludes that the social clinic lacks credible evidence of effectiveness and its continued popularity expresses popular but predatory American values such as romantic individualism, the triumph of the subjective, a sense of personal and political chosenness, persistent bigotry, and a preference for tribal as opposed to civic identities. This careful examination of American society through the lens of psychotherapeutic practice characterizes the social clinic as a soothing fiction of the United States.The book offers caring services as the unrealized alternative to clinical treatment, capable of achieving greater personal adjustment as well as social and economic equality. It will appeal to readers with an interest in social welfare, public policy, and public administration, as well as to students and scholars of psychotherapy, counseling, social work, rehabilitation, and community psychology.