Description
The therapeutic state is a pervasive set of practices and ideologies which have been ever present in the twentieth century. This book of international contributors is about bringing into question many of these reified, dogmatic ideologies.
Classifications, diagnosis and the treatments have been shown to be ineffectual for many populations across the globe, but still we persist with redundant, defunct methods and techniques. Why? Because, as some would suggest, we have nothing better. The danger that the state is taking away one of the last confidential spaces for people to allow thoughts to come to them has never been greater.
This book invites readers to think beyond the state and its therapeutics. It will be relevant to many professions, professionals, service users, families, survivors and organisations; and those who are looking for something different. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Beyond the Therapeutic State, Del Loewenthal, Ottar Ness and Billy Hardy
Chapter One: The triumph of American psychiatry: How it created the modern therapeutic state, Robert Whitaker
Chapter Two: Children’s mental health: Time to stop using psychiatric diagnosis, Sami Timimi
Chapter Three: Psychiatric diagnosis, ‘thought styles’ and ex post facto fact fallacies, John Shotter
Chapter Four: Radical Presence: Alternatives to the therapeutic state, Sheila McNamee
Chapter Five: The extended therapy room, Carina Håkansson
Chapter Six: From victimhood to sisterhood – A practice-based reflexive inquiry into narrative informed work with women who have experienced sexual abuse, Leah Salter
Chapter Seven: Psychotherapy and its alternatives: Commentary on a critique, Michael Rustin
Chapter Eight: Dark Clouds, Chris Oakley
Chapter Nine: Altermodernity and the unfortunate need to train critical psychotherapists and counsellors, Del Loewenthal
