The Therapy Industry
The Irresistible Rise of the Talking Cure, and Why It Doesn't Work
Across the world anxiety, stress and depression are on the increase, a trend which looks set to continue as austerity measures bite. The official response tells people that unhappiness is just a personal problem, rather than a social one.
Written by a practising psychologist, with nearly thirty years' experience in the fields of mental health and learning disabilities, The Therapy Industry offers a concise, accessible and critical overview of the world of psychological practice in Britain and the USA. Paul Moloney argues that much therapy is geared towards compliance and acceptance of the status quo, rather than attempting to facilitate social change.
The Therapy Industry fundamentally challenges our conceptions of happiness and wellbeing. Moloney argues that therapeutic and applied psychology have little basis in science, that their benefits are highly exaggerated and they prosper because they serve the interests of power.
Written by a practising psychologist, with nearly thirty years' experience in the fields of mental health and learning disabilities, The Therapy Industry offers a concise, accessible and critical overview of the world of psychological practice in Britain and the USA. Paul Moloney argues that much therapy is geared towards compliance and acceptance of the status quo, rather than attempting to facilitate social change.
The Therapy Industry fundamentally challenges our conceptions of happiness and wellbeing. Moloney argues that therapeutic and applied psychology have little basis in science, that their benefits are highly exaggerated and they prosper because they serve the interests of power.
Paul Moloney is a Counselling Psychologist with experience in community and social work, an associate lecturer with the Open University and the University of Birmingham, and a founder member of the Midlands Psychology Group, which is dedicated to questioning the assumptions of official psychology. He is the author of The Therapy Industry (Pluto, 2013).
'A brilliant and erudite book that might help us see through the mystifying fog of ideas in our present culture that leads us to seek individual therapy and self-help as cures for our ills' - Dr Guy Holmes, Clinical Psychologist
'The most comprehensive, accessible and best-documented critique available of the whole theory and practice of psychological therapy. Indispensable' - David Smail, author of 'Taking Care: An Alternative to Therapy'
'Combines intellectual acuity, a well-developed political sensitivity and a comprehensive grasp of the literature with an experienced clinician's tacit knowledge, wisdom and insight. Reading it may change how you think about psychology, about therapy, and perhaps even about yourself' - Dr John Cromby, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Loughborough University
'A fascinating critical tour of the role of therapy in modern Britain' - Charlotte Potter-Powell, Peace News
Introduction: The Light at the End of the Tunnel?
PART ONE: Evaluating Psychological Techniques
1. Faith, fashion and mind cures
2. The psychopathology of everyday life
3. ‘The CEO of Self’
4. Does Therapy Work?
5. ‘I’m not ill, I’m hurt’: the hidden injuries of social inequality
PART TWO: Therapy in Society
6. Sweet Medicine - psychotherapy and psychology as control
7. IAPT - theory into policy
8. The Therapy Marketplace
9. Towards a psychology that embraces what the therapy industry ignores
References
Index
PART ONE: Evaluating Psychological Techniques
1. Faith, fashion and mind cures
2. The psychopathology of everyday life
3. ‘The CEO of Self’
4. Does Therapy Work?
5. ‘I’m not ill, I’m hurt’: the hidden injuries of social inequality
PART TWO: Therapy in Society
6. Sweet Medicine - psychotherapy and psychology as control
7. IAPT - theory into policy
8. The Therapy Marketplace
9. Towards a psychology that embraces what the therapy industry ignores
References
Index
Published by Pluto Press in Jun 2013
Paperback ISBN: 9780745329864
eBook ISBN: 9781849648776
eBook ISBN: 9781849648776
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