Psychotherapy and Society

This pioneering book focuses on the social context in which psychotherapy takes place, examining the relationship between psychotherapy and sociology in two important ways. First, author David Pilgrim explores some of the shared theoretical roots of the two traditions and second, he documents the application of wider sociological work on mental health. Until now no single text has brought together and considered the two perspectives in conjunction. The book begins by discussing the points of convergence and divergence between psychotherapy and social science, focusing on case studies of psychoanalysis, phenomenology, existentialism, objectivism, post-structuralism and general systems theory. It then concentrates on the relationship between mental health and gender class, race, and professionalism, asking and examining a number of questions about each and summarizing the relevant social research. Further chapters examine therapy in relation to the personal, organizational, and political context of its practice and the book concludes by providing a critical analysis of the professionalization and the experience of service users. Psychotherapy and Society provides training and practicing counselors, psychotherapists, and other mental health workers with a rigorous and provocative analysis of the role of psychotherapy in society and the relevant sociological work about mental distress.