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Mad To Be Normal: Conversations with R.D. Laing
Mad to be Normal presents Laing's own words, about his work and about his life. It is the most complete record on Laing, by Laing. Entertaining, maddening, surprising, impressive, occasionally scurrilous, and evoking a compelling portrait of the heady and sometimes self-regarding mood of the 1960s and early 1970s, this book necessitates a reassessment of Laing and his work; work which is part of a lengthier and on-going process concerned with the routine care of those disturbed in mind.
- GenresPsychology
394 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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February 12, 2019
R.d. Laing believed that madness was the brain's attempt to adjust to and normalise internally, a world that was mad. He felt that people suffering from various mental disorders needed help to see things how they really are. His treatment was to open a private house where the patients were treated mostly as honoured guests with conversations often being talking therapy. "Mostly", but occasionally as dangerous lunatics, which some of them were.
When he was treating them like guests I could see his point, that these people had developed weird frames of reference and that interacting with them in a respectful, friendly way and talking to them about their malajustments might actually get them to see reality. Laing had two issues to face:
One was the medical (and law enforcement) world saw this 'private house' experiment as self-indulgent and misguided at best and dangerous at worst. The patients could be damaged by not receiving proper treatment and the other patients and public could be put in harm's way should any of them turn violent.
Secondly, Laing himself knew it was a fine line and sometimes he had to treat them as patients not guests in his home, because sometimes their delusions couldn't be corrected by talking and because of the stresses the law and medical world put on him to ensure the safety of the public . Sadly, he was unable, despite his generosity and great goodmindedness to actually effect any lasting mental improvement in any of his patients and there was violence and damage to property and person.
Ultimately he had to give in to pressures and the patients were rehoused in mental facilities that might not have suited them at all or brought about any improvement in their conditions, but suited society.
When he was treating them like guests I could see his point, that these people had developed weird frames of reference and that interacting with them in a respectful, friendly way and talking to them about their malajustments might actually get them to see reality. Laing had two issues to face:
One was the medical (and law enforcement) world saw this 'private house' experiment as self-indulgent and misguided at best and dangerous at worst. The patients could be damaged by not receiving proper treatment and the other patients and public could be put in harm's way should any of them turn violent.
Secondly, Laing himself knew it was a fine line and sometimes he had to treat them as patients not guests in his home, because sometimes their delusions couldn't be corrected by talking and because of the stresses the law and medical world put on him to ensure the safety of the public . Sadly, he was unable, despite his generosity and great goodmindedness to actually effect any lasting mental improvement in any of his patients and there was violence and damage to property and person.
Ultimately he had to give in to pressures and the patients were rehoused in mental facilities that might not have suited them at all or brought about any improvement in their conditions, but suited society.
Displaying 1 of 1 review