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This Changes Everything: The Relational Revolution in Psychology
We are, therefore I am: an introduction to and political history of the psychology of relationships.
In 1977, Carol Gilligan published the essay "In a Different Voice," describing the discrepancy in morality and self-expression between men and women. In a radical break with the Freudian school that dominated psychology, Gilligan and her peers identified relationships rather than the notion of self as the foundation of our psychological and physical states. Initially met with patronizing indulgence by colleagues, this essay, along with early work by the psychiatrists Judith Lewis Herman and Jean Baker Miller, would go on to radically alter the way we understand the psychology of women, shed new light on misunderstood conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and inspire a trove of bestselling and sometimes controversial books--ranging from Reviving Ophelia to Raising Cain a nd The Courage to Heal to You Just Don't Understand --that focused intense concern on childhood development, women's relationships, and psychological trauma. In This Changes Everything , the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Christina Robb tells the story of relational psychology and recounts the untold work of a pioneering group of psychologists--mostly women--who at times took monumental risks, crossing boundaries and breaking institutional taboos, in order to fully understand the ways in which relationships shape our every experience of the world.
In 1977, Carol Gilligan published the essay "In a Different Voice," describing the discrepancy in morality and self-expression between men and women. In a radical break with the Freudian school that dominated psychology, Gilligan and her peers identified relationships rather than the notion of self as the foundation of our psychological and physical states. Initially met with patronizing indulgence by colleagues, this essay, along with early work by the psychiatrists Judith Lewis Herman and Jean Baker Miller, would go on to radically alter the way we understand the psychology of women, shed new light on misunderstood conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and inspire a trove of bestselling and sometimes controversial books--ranging from Reviving Ophelia to Raising Cain a nd The Courage to Heal to You Just Don't Understand --that focused intense concern on childhood development, women's relationships, and psychological trauma. In This Changes Everything , the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Christina Robb tells the story of relational psychology and recounts the untold work of a pioneering group of psychologists--mostly women--who at times took monumental risks, crossing boundaries and breaking institutional taboos, in order to fully understand the ways in which relationships shape our every experience of the world.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 20, 2007
The entire history of relational psychology is surprisingly dense but well-written. This book describes the experiences and path to insight for the major players in the development of relational-cultural theory. It has a deep bibliography and notes section, but the power is how it humanizes the history of this way of thinking. I wish the long chapters had been broken down into smaller chunks. At times it is difficult to keep track of the changes in focus.
June 18, 2008
This book gave me goose bumps and made me all teary eyed with emotion. In other words, it was amazing. I am still reeling.
It's the history of the "relational-cultural theory" in psychology. In layman's terms, that was the movement to bring the female perspective into the study of psychology, beginning in the 1970s (in Boston!).
For example, (young, white) men (in Western cultures) are taught that strong relationships are a weakness, and that the path to psychological grow leads you away from all "dependencies" and towards a lonely life of perfect autonomy--a focus on the cultivation of the ego that has never fit with the female experience.
This book traces all the mistakes of psychology, from Freud to the beginning of this movement. It's the story of how men and women absolutely need healthy relationships to grow, as they provide us with "good conflict" and moves us forward in our own development.
Simplistic, but I cannot even begin to do it justice. Read the book!
It's the history of the "relational-cultural theory" in psychology. In layman's terms, that was the movement to bring the female perspective into the study of psychology, beginning in the 1970s (in Boston!).
For example, (young, white) men (in Western cultures) are taught that strong relationships are a weakness, and that the path to psychological grow leads you away from all "dependencies" and towards a lonely life of perfect autonomy--a focus on the cultivation of the ego that has never fit with the female experience.
This book traces all the mistakes of psychology, from Freud to the beginning of this movement. It's the story of how men and women absolutely need healthy relationships to grow, as they provide us with "good conflict" and moves us forward in our own development.
Simplistic, but I cannot even begin to do it justice. Read the book!
May 5, 2017
This book changed the way that I look at the social situation in the world and made me question if the current order is the only right one. A must-read for anyone.
Also, the stories of the 3 researchers that are described in the book are extremely well-written and inspiring.
Also, the stories of the 3 researchers that are described in the book are extremely well-written and inspiring.
October 29, 2008
I am biased regarding the author, and I learned more than I can say about relational theory from this book even though I had read many of the authors whose stories are told and whose theories are analyzed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews