In Therapy We Trust: America's Obsession with Self-Fulfillment
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Book Overview
From self-esteem talk on Oprah to self-help books like Negaholics and Your Sacred Self, we live in an age fixated on emotional well-being. Rich or poor, black or white, male or female, straight or gay, Americans share a belief in the therapeutic gospel. As Eva Moskowitz argues, Americans today turn to psychological cures as confidently as they once petitioned the Lord with prayer. How did the land of the free become obsessed with self-fulfilment? Has America gained or lost by placing so much emphasis on personal well-being? Taking a historical approach, Moskowitz explores the country's tendency to find psychological explanations - and excuses - for nearly everything.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0801864038
ISBN13:9780801864032
Release Date:March 2001
Publisher:Johns Hopkins University Press
Length:342 Pages
Weight:1.35 lbs.
Dimensions:1.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
Explains the "How" of the therapeutic takeover
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
After reading the excellent "One Nation Under Therapy", I picked up this book for a supplementary critique of the therapeutic gospel. However, I found that this book is more of a history of how the doctrine of psychological self-fulfillment came to have such a major influence in our society. Starting with the work of Phineas Quimby (the godfather of Christian Science) and moving through the Progressive movement and WWII to contemporary daytime talk shows, the author traces the evolution of psychotherapy's influence in American life. That's interesting, but this is not the book for you if you're interested in an actual critique of therapism's efficacy and legitimacy.
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