Synopses & Reviews
An extended meditation on the cultural importance of the institution of psychotherapy.
Written with a rare combination of multidisciplinary expertise and personal passion, The Cure of Souls is a sociocultural investigation into the role and impact of the practice of psychotherapy in the modern world. The investigation is bi-directional, exploring both the influence of the basic tenets of psychotherapy on Western cultures and the influence of modern Western cultures on the assumptions inherent in psychotherapy.
Woolfolk's paradigm-shifting examination of the sociocultural functions of psychotherapy can be seen as a response to the influence of managed care on the practice of psychotherapy. While not denying the importance of science in the mental health professions, the author argues against the "medicalization" of the field in favor of a values-oriented understanding of psychotherapy's role in our culture.
He calls for a more comprehensive, values-based view of psychotherapy -- an understanding that will pay homage to the complexity of human life.
Review
"Rarely has any writer addressed the issue of values in psychotherapy as cogently and comprehensively as has Robert Woolfolk in this groundbreaking volume. This book should be read by the providers and consumers of psychotherapy as well as by anyone with an intellectual interest in the current status of this important form of treatment." (Aaron T. Beck, university professor emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine)
"The Cure of Souls is a philosophical analysis of some of the most important aspects of psychotherapy that are often neglected by practicing therapists. To understand what some of the basic issues of psychotherapy are and how it can be made more practical and scientific, this book is an invaluable guide. Bravo!" (Albert Ellis, president, Albert Ellis Institute for Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, New York City)
"The Cure of Souls is a systematic, intelligent, and perceptive book that will inform those concerned with understanding our culture and challenge those who provide psychotherapeutic interventions to better ground their interventions in what wisdom we can assemble on these issues." (John Darley, Warren Professor of Psychology, Princeton University)
Synopsis
Written with a rare combination of personal passion and multidisciplinary expertise, Robert L. Woolfolk analyzes the institution of psychotherapy, exploring the roles that psychotherapy plays in the contemporary world. Psychotherapy emerges as a pivotal social force, one that both shapes and reflects the principal currents of western cultures.
Rarely has any writer addressed the issue of values in psychotherapy as cogently and comprehensively as has Robert Woolfolk in this groundbreaking volume. This book should be read by the providers and consumers of psychotherapy as well as by anyone with an intellectual interest in the current status of this important form of treatment.
--Aaron T. Beck, university professor emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
About the Author
ROBERT L. WOOLFOLK is a professor of psychology at Rutgers University and a visiting professor of psychology at Princeton University. He is a coauthor of Stress, Sanity, and Survival, a coeditor of Principles and Practice of Stress Management, and a coeditor of Hermeneutics and Psychological Theory. He resides in Princeton, New Jersey.
Table of Contents
Preface.
Introduction.
Psychotherapy as a Social Institution of the Modern Era.
Psychotherapy and the Integration of Science and Values.
Psychotherapy and Practical Knowledge.
Psychotherapy and the Structure of Self-Understanding.
Psychotherapy and Practical Knowledge.
Psychotherapy and Contemporary Controversies.
Notes.
References.
The Author.
Index.