From Seance to Science: A History of the Profession of Psychology in America

by David B. Baker

This book is intended to round out the picture of American psychology's past, adding the history of psychological practice to the story of psychological science. Written by two well-recognized authorities in the field, this brief (chapter 6) book covers the profession and practice of psychology in America from the late 19th century to the present. FROM SÉANCE TO SCIENCE tells the story of psychologists who sought and seek to apply the knowledge of their science to the practical problems of the world, whether those problems lay in businesses, schools, families, or in the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of individuals. Engagingly written and full of interesting examples, this book includes figures and photos from the Archives of the History of American Psychology. This is the story of individuals, trained in psychology, who function as school psychologists, counseling psychologists, clinical psychologists, and industrial psychologists. These are psychology's practitioners, meaning that they take the knowledge base of psychology and use it for practical purposes outside of the classroom and outside of the laboratory.

Genres: Nonfiction

266 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lauren C.K.]

Fascinating read and review of the psychology profession, especially as an LPCC I am considered one of the sub-doctoral professions ‘encroaching’ on psychologists turf. I have always viewed myself as practicing applied psychology, and this brief history only enforced it. I do wonder though, if all the infighting between specializations is what led the rather bleak conclusion of this book, in that psychologists need to come together to update her science in the face of a diverse, ever-changing world.

[SHEENA CASTILLO]

I was extremely disappointed to begin the first chapter and learn about Phrenology. Not once did the authors (one of which was the director of the APA) acknowledge that phrenology was in fact a huge proponent “science” of the eugenics movement in America. Copyright is 2004… we aren’t talking about the 1950’s here where it may have been taboo for a person in that position to acknowledge this fact. If we are writing on the history of psychology let’s actually acknowledge the whole history.

[Shannon]

The first two chapters were quite interesting. The third chapter (on school psychology) and the fourth chapter (on something I forgot about) were quite boring, probably because the topics didn't interest me. The rest was okay. The ending was a bit depressing, because apparently the authors think that the field of psychology is doomed. Especially if they don't start studying minorities. (Psychology is dominated by the study of straight white people, STILL, and it's sad but true). One of the most interesting things about this book is that it gives one an idea of some of the STUPID-ass things people believed in. Like Phrenology. And Eugenics. Which are evil. But it makes me glad I majored in Psychology, and it makes me glad that we know so much more now then we did back in the day. Though, seriously, psycholgy is a relatively young field, that has been historically and CONSISTENTLY fucking underappreciated and misunderstood. So... that was kind of annoying to read about. Also it made me realize the certain amount of loyalty I have towards the field. I was like HEY, DONT BE HATIN'. Exactly like that.