Psychotherapy can be a hazardous undertaking. Clients have only two choices: talk or pills. Modern psychiatry, with its emphasis on biological theorizing and genetic speculation, has been responsible for the "diseasing" and "tranquilizing" of the public and for convincing most Americans that if they are not already mentally ill and in urgent need of help, they soon will be. And instead of living free, independent. and spontaneous lives, most clients of psychotherapy wind up more dependent, more anxious, more addicted, and psychologically and emotionally worse off than before. The history of psychotherapy is marked by incompetence, inhumane and immoral treatment, and a total misunderstanding of human beings. Sadly, this lack of understanding also dominates mental health treatment today. The young, the elderly, the emotionally distraught, and the weak and dependent are still being taken advantage of by unethical, immoral, and incompetent psychologists, counselors, and social workers.
Dr. Baker addresses the problem of the lack of scientific training and outlook among the people in the mental health field and examines what is needed if the public is to be better served by the mental health professions. Only an informed and enlightened public can protect itself from incompetent and ineffective "shrinks." The purpose of this informative and disturbing book is to provide this necessary and needed information.
Robert A. Baker (Lexington. KY) is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Kentucky and a fellow of the American Psychological Association.
477 pages (Illustrations throughout)
ISBN 1-57392-071-1 Cloth