Laing and anti-psychiatry;

by Robert Boyers

1st Penguin 1971 edition paperback vg+ book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Psychology, Psychiatry, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

really enjoyed it! being a compilation of essays, interviews, and the like, it's naturally very hit or miss but it provides a good balanced viewpoint for a figure who's often discussed in a very extreme manner (he critiques the very fabric of the psychiatric system, for better or for worse). i think i enjoyed peter sedgwick's essay the best; it provides a really good overview of the development of laing's work as well as a marxist critique of the transcendalist attitudes he adopted later on. leslie farber's 'schizophrenia and the mad psychotherapist' details a really interesting phenomenon underlying an oft-ignored issue of psychotherapy. morton schatzmann's 'madness and morals' is very, very fascinating and ethically challenging - the details of kingsley hall are initially repulsive (the sort of scatology that drove me away from reading burroughs) but raises some interesting questions about the nature of insanity. the key takeaway from all these contrasting views, in my opinion, is that it is important to try and truly understand and listen to thr 'patient' not forcing any kind of 'treatment' or normative behaviours on them. although i have a lot of issues with laing's opinions and methods (at least how they're presented by some writers here), i think his critical approach is essential for beginning to understand the phenomenon of schizophrenia and how schizophrenics can, or should, be helped.

[cool_veins · Rating 4 out of 5]

i stole this from someone who didn't understand what kind of goldmine this beautiful little volume was. they are never getting it back. they 'liked the pretty cover' pff i love all things laing and anything about revolutions in psychology and psychiatry, esp these little 80-120 pg penguin editions??? they're super collectible~ they are like the goosebumps or choose your own adventure of modern psychology