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A compelling contemporary topic, transformation of communities in danger, is addressed with fresh concepts and terminology; a breakthrough book useful to professionals in psychology & related fields and yet viable as trade or text It is written in lively engaging fashion suitable for textbook use in courses on social, community, clinical and counseling psychology- either for graduate or advanced undergraduate courses, as supplemental text, or in trade/professional use.It's unique Existential Lifespan Psychology focus on classic and current well publicized community opportunities, and hazards, offers psychologists and their students in the field fresh clarity and practical approaches for useful transformation ... Read more

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Useful for classes on understanding Trauma and Psychology
Useful for classes on understanding Trauma (PTSD) and Psychology. Dynamic clarity. Endorsements on back include anthropologist Barbara Tedlock, Sociologist/Psychologist Nathan Hare, Psychologists Stephen M. Johnson, and Bert Karon. ... Read more

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Argues that our struggle to become good parents can help us to become good persons. ... Read more

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Inviting us to examine how we each can be a better person
Mufid Hannush meets his aim of illuminating and describing the meaning and essential elements of good and loving parents.With this he helps us also see how to be good and loving persons.I am not a parent, but valued this book in the way it settled me into an awareness of how I can live a more value-focused life moment by moment.

As he says: "Although it offers no 'how to' techniques and strategies for the achievement of good parenting, it holds the conviction that an in-depth description of the theoretical structure of good and loving parenting leads to an understanding that can inspire change in our consciousness and actions."

The first few chapters were difficult to sit with; I wondered what I was learning.I soon realized this was an expression of what is known; I was gaining an increased awareness rather than information/knowledge.While reading Chapter 3 I suddenly sensed I'd internalized the message of the book.I longed to live a good life, to have a 'perfect' character.(A challenge that reminds me of Confucianism.)I was able to hear the message and reflect more fully on its meaning.I encourage those who read it to stay with it.Like a good parent, be patient, sit with the reading and allow yourself to hear it fully without rushing.It is well worth it!

Through his readings, which included themes from Iris Murdoch's moral philosophy, and Harper's character "Atticus" in To Kill a Mockingbird, I have been inspired to read and study these writers also. ... Read more

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A prestigious, original title co-authored by Rollo May, one of the best selling American fathers of existential psychology. This long awaited text in existential psychology presents a practical, integrative approach to the discipline especially for the training clinician. Three broad dimensions are emphasized: its literary, philosophical, and psychological heritage, its recent and future trends, and its therapeutic applications. ... Read more

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The first part of this book contains a new system of existential psychotherapy illustrated by a few case studies.The Second Section entitled Gallimaufry is a selection of articles on various topics.

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This text provides an analysis of phenomenological-existential theories, values, principles and concepts that have an influence on human behaviour, problems and experiences. ... Read more

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Have you ever felt the nameless dread?Terror andanguish without a cause?This book gives a name and a carefuldescription to the nameless threat, our free-floating anxiety, whichwe have all felt but perhaps not faced.

First we must separate existential anxiety from ordinary fears asclearly as possible.Then (developing insights provided by suchthinkers as Heidegger, Kierkegaard, May, and Binswanger), we canproceed to analyze the many dimensions of this innercondition-of-being.How do we cope with anxiety?Can we channel itcreatively, helping us to become more Authentic?And it is possibleto live beyond angst? ... Read more

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A criticism of modern psychology in general and Freud's determinism in particular. ... Read more

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Speculative? System-building?Abstract? Gut-wrenching!
This work consists of 2 excerpts from Satre's "Being and Nothingness". What's new is a 17 page introduction by Rollo May. Although May admires Sartre, he does present key differences he has with Sartre, so this intro has some teeth in it. Even as excerpts, there's about 200 pages of meaty exposition that saves you lugging around "Being And Nothingness" if this subset is yourfocus.

Sartre builds up a big, abstract, speculative system, apparently as a framework for his belief in human freedom, choice, and responsibility. What does this construction accomplish that simple assertions wouldn't of our freedom, our not being determined, our defining ourself via our yet-to-be-accomplished projects, our responsibility rooted in our unavoidable need to make choices? Perhaps both emphasis (you'll be less likely to forget you are free), elaboration (you'll learn more what being free as well as trying not to be implies), and examples (you'll learn more of the ways in which people try to avoid the weight of their freedom).

Even if the experts tell you they have you all figured out, you'll have decide whether to buy that or not. Even if you want to be all figured out and delivered from uncertainty, they (and you) may be wrong. If Sartre only argued for our individual freedoms, he wouldn't be so important. It is in his exploration of the ways in which we cringe from our freedom, of our "bad faith", that he connects and makes what seems a speculative, abstract system instead a powerful emotional truth.

Excellent Book
I read this book in one sitting and found it to be very informative. In outlining the basis for an existentialist psychoanalysis, Sartre gives interesting and riveting existential perspectives on the human situation. I would recommend anyone with an interest in philosophy, psychology, and thehuman situation in general to give this book a try. ... Read more

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Building on the work of Janet, Jung, and Fairbairn, the authordetails a comprehensive theory of pathology and integrates the majorschools of treatment into a holistic outpatient milieu therapy.Abroms emphasizes the role of personality dissociation in depressivepathologies, and works toward unifying the self into a more aware,spiritually connected whole. Clinicians working from a variety ofviewpoints will find fruit in his work. ... Read more

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Humanistic Psychology: A Clinical Manifesto is destined to impact not only the face of humanistic psychology, but the field of psychotherapy in general. David N. Elkins, a long time leading voice in humanistic psychology, presents a compelling case about what is wrong with contemporary psychotherapy and how, through a re-envisioned humanistic psychology, it needs to change. The book challenges the medical model in psychotherapy and summarizes contemporary analyses and meta-analyses of psychotherapy research that make it clear that "contextual factors" -- not techniques -- are the primary determinants of therapeutic effectiveness.With a foreword written by Natalie Rogers, daughter of Carl Rogers, one of the most influential clinical psychologists of the past century, Elkins is already receiving the praise from many leading figures in the humanistic psychology movement. ... Read more

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Humanistic Psychotherapy, Humanistic Healing....
Elkins' book is misnamed, as it shouldn't be limited to psychology.Though "Manifesto" fits well:it describes basic principles that have strong training, practice & political implications."Manifesto" also points to what's manifest, what's obvious in light of most-recent science.

Summarizing the many good meta-analyses of psychotherapy research over the past 15 years or so, Elkins makes several key points.First, psychotherapy is, indeed, proven effective.Second, brief psychotherapy has not been established as always equally effective to longer forms.(See his Chapter 2, "Short-Term, Linear Approaches to Psychotherapy:What We Now Know".)And third, what heals, what "works" about psychotherapy isn't mostly diagnosis & technique, isn't the medical model & the "manual model" of the so-called "empirically supported treatments" (which, by the way, I often use).Psychotherapy heals through "contextual factors", meaning those factors "common to all therapeutic systems", common to all psychotherapies - cognitive-behavioral, family therapy, psychodynamic therapy and even humanistic therapy.Contextual factors include:the alliance between therapist and client, personal qualities of the therapist, the relationship between client and therapist, client expectations & resources, "a plausible rationale and set of procedures", etc.(See especially, Chapter 3, "Empirically Supported Treatments:The Deconstruction of a Myth".)

Much of this has been well-demonstrated, and further demonstrations are continuing.Two key books that extensively, carefully review the psychotherapy research evidence -- The Heart and Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy and The Great Psychotherapy Debate: Models, Methods, and Findings (LEA's Counseling and Psychotherapy Series) -- are both due out, December 2009, in updated 2nd editions. So why buy & read Elkins?

Elkins is an engaging writer, and "Humanistic Psychology" is a highly readable summary & introduction.But there's more here, much more, and it starts with his first chapter, "Whatever Happened to Carl Rogers?An Examination of the Politics of Clinical Psychology".One way to summarize, and over-simplify, the research is:Carl Rogers was right.His "necessary & sufficient conditions", set forth in 1958, have held up.(See The Carl Rogers Reader & my review.)Indeed, these "conditions" - especially empathy, unconditional positive regard/prizing & congruence/genuineness -- are the most research-validated findings in all psychotherapy, this over more than half a century.

So why, then, when I was taught masters-level social work at The University of Chicago -- where Rogers taught for many years, where he wrote "Necessary & Sufficient Conditions", where one of his key students (Eugene Gendlin) was still teaching, which had the #1 ranked social work school in the country - why was Carl Rogers never mentioned, much less carefully taught?This in a good school that prided itself on research.Why didn't my training highlight those factors shown to be most effective in psychotherapy?Why was my training focused on specific diagnosis & technique, which explains far less of the effectiveness of psychotherapy?(In fairness, these meta-analyses were not, then, as available.Though we did know, we were told that research showed all psychotherapies equally effective.)

Answers to these questions, along with that research, are at the heart of Elkins' book and they're what makes it a "manifesto".These reasons "why" involve many factors, such as economic pressures, academic/political turf-building, basic assumptions in our society, and rejection, ignoring or downplaying such key variables as spiritual concerns & a meaning to suffering beyond disease & symptomology.

That's what makes this book well-worth the buying & reading.Though I quibble with some of his "what we must do" - not so much in what Elkins says, as in what he omits.

Disclosure:I'm a clinical social worker, and of my six "genius" teachers, four of them were students of Carl Rogers.I've met Dave Elkins once, and I found him a kindred spirit in many ways, especially in what social workers are routinely taught, and what psychologists generally lack - an eye for the various forms of power, and so an eye for not only psychological explanations & solutions, but also the need for community-based, political explanations & solutions, too.Including the need for speaking out & doing something.

And that's what Elkins does so well:clear summaries of research, explanations why this research isn't better known & better heeded, and proposals on what clinicians need to do.

My quibbles with Elkins?Let me state that my disagreements build on his premises, and so they're less important than my agreements, and they're meant, in no way, to diminish the force of this book.First, I think Elkins misses the additional power gained by combining humanistic therapies with aspects of the medical model, used in a humanistic way, at least with my client population.I work with clients who are complex & multi-problem, who have often experienced severe trauma (such as abuse, neglect & combat), who often have more biologically-based issues such as autism, bipolar, TBI & OCD (though nothing is ever ONLY biological; it's always also part of a real person).I think using techniques & DSM diagnoses in a humanistic way combines different powers, and so I can better reach, congruently match & effectively help more people heal.I also believe that Elkins doesn't fully take in economic limitations, especially in third world counties and in areas of the US where money is never likely to flow.Therefore, more radical solutions, such as teaching these "contextual factors" to laypersons - which are being successfully done by some of my colleagues - should also be included in his solutions.(This, by the way, has also be demonstrated effective by research.)

But again, our differences are less vital than our similarities.And they in no way take away the value of this book.Please buy it, read it, think about it, and do something.

I close with a poem by D.H. Lawrence with which Elkins closes his chapter on creating a new metaphor for psychotherapy, one that moves beyond the medical model, one that captures scientifically-demonstrated contextual factors.It's one that touches me, especially about my child clients with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) or my clients with combat PTSD.The chapter the poem closes -- "The Deep Poetic Soul:An Alternative Vision of Psychotherapy" -- I found useful in compassionately understanding & effectively helping these very challenging, very needful clients.It's entitled "Healing"

I am not a mechanism, an
assembly of various sections
And it is not because the mechanism
is working wrongly that I am ill
I am ill because of wounds to the soul
to the deep emotional self
And the wounds to the soul
Take a long, long time
Only time can help
and patience
And a certain difficult repentance,
Long, difficult repentance,
Realization of life's mistake,
And freeing oneself from the
endless repetition of the mistake
Which mankind at large has
chosen to sanctify.

Some good words for healing, for our clients.And for us. ... Read more

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Existential and Spiritual Issues in Death Attitudes provides: an in-depth examination of death attitudes, existentialism, and spirituality and their relationships; a review of the major theoretical models; clinical applications of these models to issues such as infertility, bereavement, anxiety, and suicide; and an introduction to meaning management theory and how it can be applied to grief counseling.

In this new volume, death is treated both as a threat to meaning and as an opportunity to create meaning. The first section introduces theory and methodology to connect the latest empirical research on death attitudes to the philosophical/psychological existential and spirituality literature. Part II presents the latest empirical research on subjects such as end-of-life decisions and living with HIV. The final section considers therapeutic applications to issues including suicide, infertility, bereavement, and anxiety. The concluding chapter highlights the book’s common themes and provides questions to encourage further investigation of the most critical topics.

Psychologists, counselors, social workers, physicians, nurses, and religious leaders, as well as academics in the fields of psychology, gerontology, philosophy, religion, counseling, social work, sociology, and medicine will value this new resource. Main points summarize important ideas of each chapter, making it an appropriate text in courses on death and dying and/or and spirituality. Its clinical applications will appeal to practicing professionals.

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For lovers of existentialism, spirituality, and meaning.
Death is a very difficult subject for many of us to think about, let alone read an in-depth book about its existential meaning and the spiritual issues involved. I recently lost a dear friend, and I found the chapter, "Construction of Meaning in the Face of Mortality" by Gloria Nouel, PhD, very comforting. Although she writes about the bereavement of women who lost their children, I was able to hear Dr. Nouel's words speaking to my grief-stricken heart over the loss of a 62-year-old woman who was my self-less and kind friend. Dr. Nouel also opens the door to reflections on our relationship with loved ones after their leaving this plane of existence. This book will help you work through your grief, and learn how to create meaning when all you are feeling is meaninglessness. ... Read more

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While the notion of the mind as information-processor--a kind of computational system--is widely accepted, many scientists and philosophers have assumed that this account of cognition shows that the mind's operations are characterizable independent of their relationship to the external world.Existential Cognition challenges the internalist view of mind, arguing that intelligence, thought, and action cannot be understood in isolation, but only in interaction with the outside world.

Arguing that the mind is essentially embedded in the external world, Ron McClamrock provides a schema that allows cognitive scientists to address such long-standing problems in artificial intelligence as the "frame" problem and the issue of "bounded" rationality.Extending this schema to cover progress in other studies of behavior, including language, vision, and action, McClamrock reinterprets the importance of the organism/environment distinction.McClamrock also considers the broader philosophical question of the place of mind in the world, particularly with regard to questions of intentionality, subjectivity, and phenomenology.

With implications for philosophy, cognitive and computer science, AI, and psychology, this book synthesizes state-of-the-art work in philosophy and cognitive science on how the mind interacts with the world to produce thoughts, ideas, and actions. ... Read more

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Real Externalism
This is a very good book.It argues for externalism in the philosophy of mind in a clear and convincing way.Unlike most arguments for externalism that depend heavily on intuitions about language or various thought-experiments, McClamrock does the work of grounding his agruments in real science and actual cases.Anyone tempted by Kim-style a priori arguments about the mind should especially read the book and hopefully see what one can do when one engages w/ real cases.The only thing keeping me from giving the book 5 stars is that I wish some of the cases and arguments were pushed a bit further, but it's still and excellent book, and one that anyone interested in externalism and the philosophy of mind should read. ... Read more

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In writing his book on the meaning of existence, Julian Lev takes us all the way back to the beginning. "In the beginning, everyone is born." This is not the beginning of Heaven and Earth.This is our personal beginning, the point of entry for our life experience. With its simple language and compelling art, this is a story for all ages; and, as the climax suggests, may be a Story for the Ages. ... Read more

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MEANING OF LIFE an encouragement of thought
"THE MEANING OF LIFE" Author, Dr. Julian Lev (a practicing psychologist in New Mexico) has written a quick read that should be read, considered and discussed by all.The well chosen words will have a different meaning and provoke thoughts and considerations of ones own life."THE MEANING OF LIFE" can be read in as little as 15 minutes or pondered and considered for hours.It should be read and discussed with the 4 year old and read annually by all who are striving for the future or reflecting upon the past.The spectacular art work encourages the thought provoking process so encouraged by the reading.Certainly, "less (words) is more" in this delightful reading. ... Read more

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This work aims to provide an introduction to the field of existential psychiatry and psychotherapeutic psychology. This book includes classic articles taken from the "Review's" first 20 volumes and features contributions by Viktor Frankl, Eugene Gendlin, R.D. Laing, Rollo May, Carl Rogers, Paul Tillich, and many others, as well as a selected bibliography. ... Read more

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Comprehensive Review of Existential Psychoanalysis
This is an ideal collection for anyone just starting out in existential psychology and psychiatry.Whether you are a clinician, academic, or just curious about existential psychoanalysis, this book presents a thoroughsample of thinkers and perspectives.A must have for anyone with anintellectual interest in existentialism, psychoanalysis, or existentialpsychoanalysis. ... Read more