Summary
Contents
Subject index
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 a
‘Right’ and ‘Left’ Therapists up to 1945
‘Right’ and ‘Left’ Therapists up to 1945
Although the line between ‘right’ and ‘left’ is, as I have suggested in the Introduction, not the only meaningful dimension of politics, several significant figures in psychotherapy have taken up positions on that axis. The more explicitly political the position, the more on the left it tends to be. Jung's activities in the 1930s are a partial exception to this (‘partial’ because he portrays himself as speaking from above the fray) – perhaps the only prominent therapist so far to become involved with the radical right.
Some psychotherapists are activists simply as citizens, who happen to be therapists by trade – like activist lawyers or plumbers (all of whom will offer their particular skills ...
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