Catharsis in Healing, Ritual and Drama

by Thomas J. Scheff

In this thoughtful study, Thomas Scheff defines catharsis clearly as a process that is signaled by certain kinds of laughing, crying, and analogous responses reflecting anger and fear. The main concept which provides a thread throughout the entire book is that of distancing, the balance between being a participant and an observer in the thoughts and feelings that bring on catharsis. At optimal distance, the person has double vision, of being both participant and observer. This idea is applied to psychotherapy, ritual and drama.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy

262 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Madly Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book twice. It's about people who experience trauma and heal themselves though a ritual based in drama. Mostly talking about it. And I think this is a wonderful idea. However, some traumas or psychological issues cannot be mastered by such a process as this. So I disagree. And I was not convinced and I spent a lot of time thinking about it. I liked the book. I liked the idea of it. And I think it's an interesting subject that people interested in psychology should read about. There are some elements to learn from, but overall, it fails to convince me that people can just talk about something once or twice and be cured. That's not realistic. Trauma is often rooted in childhood experiences. Coping mechanism are formed in the psychic accordingly. The brain, as they say, goes the path of least resistance. All this is science. Hard science. It is a fact, proven by repeated and unbiased data, that cognitive behavior therapies have the most success rates in treating patients who need help with mental issues. In fact, even people with illness that are treated with medication would advance their quality of life by going through a cognitive based program for therapy. ADHD patients is a perfect example of this. And some forms of autism. Even children ODD can benefit and that is saying a lot. This theory ignores that science.

[Randy Elrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about an important subject matter that is rarely touched upon. I particularly liked the idea of "aesthetic distance."

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written for a technical bok. There are definitely two distinct sides to it. The science side wasn't all that engaging for me but the applications to drama and entertainment were quite interesting.