The Origins of Unhappiness: A New Understanding of Personal Distress - Couverture souple

Smail, D.J.

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0094793409 ISBN 13 : 9780094793408

Editeur : Constable, 1999

Synopsis

Through his examination of how visible and invisible social power - institutions, politics, the Establishment - wields an influence over our lives often beyond our immediate control, Smail leads us to a clear understanding of distress.'

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

It is the main argument of this book that emotional and psychological distress is often brought about through the operation of social-environmental powers which have their origin at a considerable distance from those ultimately subjected to them.

On the whole, psychology has concerned itself very little with the field of power which stretches beyond our immediate relations with each other, and this has led to serious limitations on the explanatory power of the theories it has produced. To illustrate this, typical cases of patient distress in the 1980s are examined. The decade when the right-wing of politics proclaimed there was no such thing as society gave rise to psychological distress across social classes, as long-standing societal institutions were dismantled.

This is as much a work of sociology, politics, and philosophy, as it is of psychology. Fundamentals of an environmental understanding of distress are outlined. A person is the interaction of a body with the environment. The environment is structured by material power. Power may be coercive, economic, or ideological. Power operates at a varying distance from the person. It is always experienced proximally, but may well originate distally.

The operation of power also means the ability of therapy to deal with distress is limited. Therapy essentially consists of three potentially effective elements: provision of comfort; clarification; and encouragement in the use of available powers and resources.

Revue de presse

David Smail keenly recognised how many of us think and feel, and showed how attempts to reduce distress are so often limited by targeting the wrong thing: that is, the people in pain, not the more distal causes that underpin the suffering. All of David's books beautifully but tragically describe the paradox that those offering therapy often find themselves in: wanting to help but often making things worse by mis-perceiving the meaning of distress. His work deserves to be read anew by all those in the helping professions who are prepared to question their own work, to think seriously about the meaning of the current tsunami of personal unhappiness, and to learn from this wise and perceptive author. --Susan Llewelyn, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Harris Manchester College, Oxford University

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Constable
• Date d'édition: 1999
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0094793409
• ISBN 13: 9780094793408
• Reliure: Broché
• Numéro d'édition: 2
• Nombre de pages: 256
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible