site hit counter

⋙ Read Gratis Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books

Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books



Download As PDF : Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books

Download PDF Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books


Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books

Elkins' book is misnamed, as it shouldn't be limited to psychology. Though "Manifesto" fits well: it describes basic principles that have strong training, practice & political implications. "Manifesto" also points to what's manifest, what's obvious in light of most-recent science.

Summarizing the many good meta-analyses of psychotherapy research over the past 15 years or so, Elkins makes several key points. First, psychotherapy is, indeed, proven effective. Second, brief psychotherapy has not been established as always equally effective to longer forms. (See his Chapter 2, "Short-Term, Linear Approaches to Psychotherapy: What We Now Know".) And third, what heals, what "works" about psychotherapy isn't mostly diagnosis & technique, isn't the medical model & the "manual model" of the so-called "empirically supported treatments" (which, by the way, I often use). Psychotherapy heals through "contextual factors", meaning those factors "common to all therapeutic systems", common to all psychotherapies - cognitive-behavioral, family therapy, psychodynamic therapy and even humanistic therapy. Contextual factors include: the alliance between therapist and client, personal qualities of the therapist, the relationship between client and therapist, client expectations & resources, "a plausible rationale and set of procedures", etc. (See especially, Chapter 3, "Empirically Supported Treatments: The Deconstruction of a Myth".)

Much of this has been well-demonstrated, and further demonstrations are continuing. Two key books that extensively, carefully review the psychotherapy research evidence -- The Heart and Soul of Change: Delivering What Works in Therapy and The Great Psychotherapy Debate: Models, Methods, and Findings (LEA's Counseling and Psychotherapy Series) -- are both due out, December 2009, in updated 2nd editions. So why buy & read Elkins?

Elkins is an engaging writer, and "Humanistic Psychology" is a highly readable summary & introduction. But there's more here, much more, and it starts with his first chapter, "Whatever Happened to Carl Rogers? An Examination of the Politics of Clinical Psychology". One way to summarize, and over-simplify, the research is: Carl Rogers was right. His "necessary & sufficient conditions", set forth in 1958, have held up. (See The Carl Rogers Reader & my review.) Indeed, these "conditions" - especially empathy, unconditional positive regard/prizing & congruence/genuineness -- are the most research-validated findings in all psychotherapy, this over more than half a century.

So why, then, when I was taught masters-level social work at The University of Chicago -- where Rogers taught for many years, where he wrote "Necessary & Sufficient Conditions", where one of his key students (Eugene Gendlin) was still teaching, which had the #1 ranked social work school in the country - why was Carl Rogers never mentioned, much less carefully taught? This in a good school that prided itself on research. Why didn't my training highlight those factors shown to be most effective in psychotherapy? Why was my training focused on specific diagnosis & technique, which explains far less of the effectiveness of psychotherapy? (In fairness, these meta-analyses were not, then, as available. Though we did know, we were told that research showed all psychotherapies equally effective.)

Answers to these questions, along with that research, are at the heart of Elkins' book and they're what makes it a "manifesto". These reasons "why" involve many factors, such as economic pressures, academic/political turf-building, basic assumptions in our society, and rejection, ignoring or downplaying such key variables as spiritual concerns & a meaning to suffering beyond disease & symptomology.

That's what makes this book well-worth the buying & reading. Though I quibble with some of his "what we must do" - not so much in what Elkins says, as in what he omits.

Disclosure: I'm a clinical social worker, and of my six "genius" teachers, four of them were students of Carl Rogers. I've met Dave Elkins once, and I found him a kindred spirit in many ways, especially in what social workers are routinely taught, and what psychologists generally lack - an eye for the various forms of power, and so an eye for not only psychological explanations & solutions, but also the need for community-based, political explanations & solutions, too. Including the need for speaking out & doing something.

And that's what Elkins does so well: clear summaries of research, explanations why this research isn't better known & better heeded, and proposals on what clinicians need to do.

My quibbles with Elkins? Let me state that my disagreements build on his premises, and so they're less important than my agreements, and they're meant, in no way, to diminish the force of this book. First, I think Elkins misses the additional power gained by combining humanistic therapies with aspects of the medical model, used in a humanistic way, at least with my client population. I work with clients who are complex & multi-problem, who have often experienced severe trauma (such as abuse, neglect & combat), who often have more biologically-based issues such as autism, bipolar, TBI & OCD (though nothing is ever ONLY biological; it's always also part of a real person). I think using techniques & DSM diagnoses in a humanistic way combines different powers, and so I can better reach, congruently match & effectively help more people heal. I also believe that Elkins doesn't fully take in economic limitations, especially in third world counties and in areas of the US where money is never likely to flow. Therefore, more radical solutions, such as teaching these "contextual factors" to laypersons - which are being successfully done by some of my colleagues - should also be included in his solutions. (This, by the way, has also be demonstrated effective by research.)

But again, our differences are less vital than our similarities. And they in no way take away the value of this book. Please buy it, read it, think about it, and do something.

I close with a poem by D.H. Lawrence with which Elkins closes his chapter on creating a new metaphor for psychotherapy, one that moves beyond the medical model, one that captures scientifically-demonstrated contextual factors. It's one that touches me, especially about my child clients with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) or my clients with combat PTSD. The chapter the poem closes -- "The Deep Poetic Soul: An Alternative Vision of Psychotherapy" -- I found useful in compassionately understanding & effectively helping these very challenging, very needful clients. It's entitled "Healing"

I am not a mechanism, an
assembly of various sections
And it is not because the mechanism
is working wrongly that I am ill
I am ill because of wounds to the soul
to the deep emotional self
And the wounds to the soul
Take a long, long time
Only time can help
and patience
And a certain difficult repentance,
Long, difficult repentance,
Realization of life's mistake,
And freeing oneself from the
endless repetition of the mistake
Which mankind at large has
chosen to sanctify.

Some good words for healing, for our clients. And for us.

Read Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books

Tags : Amazon.com: Humanistic Psychology: A Clinical Manifesto. A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives (9780976463887): David N Elkins: Books,David N Elkins,Humanistic Psychology: A Clinical Manifesto. A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives,Universities of the Rockies Press,0976463881,Movements - Existential,Movements - Humanistic,Psychology,Psychology Psychotherapy General,Psychology : Movements - Existential,Psychology : Movements - Humanism,PsychologyMovements - Existential,PsychologyMovements - Humanistic,Psychotherapy,Psychotherapy - General

Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books Reviews


I agree with the author, but this is written as an argument that is oversimplified and naive. Yes, organized psychology has moved away from humanism, and yes, that's a bad development, but this book didn't tells e anything I didn't know, and the proposed solutions to fix the problem are unrealistic.
This title reveals the forgotten truth of psychotherapy, taking one back to the time of Carl Rogers and an awareness that psychotherapy is about the human element, while moving away from the medical model which has been become the current zeitgeist in the field.
Great book!!!!
I purchased this book for a class on Existential/Humanistic theory and was fairly disappointed. Elkins has set out to deliver a book on the "Why" behind humanistic theory and though he does meet his point, a great deal of the book is spend knocking other school's of thought, particularly CBT. If more of this book was focused on Humanistic theory, it's application, advancements, future considerations, this could make for a solid read, but alas, that all seemed to be background noise.
Elkins' book is misnamed, as it shouldn't be limited to psychology. Though "Manifesto" fits well it describes basic principles that have strong training, practice & political implications. "Manifesto" also points to what's manifest, what's obvious in light of most-recent science.

Summarizing the many good meta-analyses of psychotherapy research over the past 15 years or so, Elkins makes several key points. First, psychotherapy is, indeed, proven effective. Second, brief psychotherapy has not been established as always equally effective to longer forms. (See his Chapter 2, "Short-Term, Linear Approaches to Psychotherapy What We Now Know".) And third, what heals, what "works" about psychotherapy isn't mostly diagnosis & technique, isn't the medical model & the "manual model" of the so-called "empirically supported treatments" (which, by the way, I often use). Psychotherapy heals through "contextual factors", meaning those factors "common to all therapeutic systems", common to all psychotherapies - cognitive-behavioral, family therapy, psychodynamic therapy and even humanistic therapy. Contextual factors include the alliance between therapist and client, personal qualities of the therapist, the relationship between client and therapist, client expectations & resources, "a plausible rationale and set of procedures", etc. (See especially, Chapter 3, "Empirically Supported Treatments The Deconstruction of a Myth".)

Much of this has been well-demonstrated, and further demonstrations are continuing. Two key books that extensively, carefully review the psychotherapy research evidence -- The Heart and Soul of Change Delivering What Works in Therapy and The Great Psychotherapy Debate Models, Methods, and Findings (LEA's Counseling and Psychotherapy Series) -- are both due out, December 2009, in updated 2nd editions. So why buy & read Elkins?

Elkins is an engaging writer, and "Humanistic Psychology" is a highly readable summary & introduction. But there's more here, much more, and it starts with his first chapter, "Whatever Happened to Carl Rogers? An Examination of the Politics of Clinical Psychology". One way to summarize, and over-simplify, the research is Carl Rogers was right. His "necessary & sufficient conditions", set forth in 1958, have held up. (See The Carl Rogers Reader & my review.) Indeed, these "conditions" - especially empathy, unconditional positive regard/prizing & congruence/genuineness -- are the most research-validated findings in all psychotherapy, this over more than half a century.

So why, then, when I was taught masters-level social work at The University of Chicago -- where Rogers taught for many years, where he wrote "Necessary & Sufficient Conditions", where one of his key students (Eugene Gendlin) was still teaching, which had the #1 ranked social work school in the country - why was Carl Rogers never mentioned, much less carefully taught? This in a good school that prided itself on research. Why didn't my training highlight those factors shown to be most effective in psychotherapy? Why was my training focused on specific diagnosis & technique, which explains far less of the effectiveness of psychotherapy? (In fairness, these meta-analyses were not, then, as available. Though we did know, we were told that research showed all psychotherapies equally effective.)

Answers to these questions, along with that research, are at the heart of Elkins' book and they're what makes it a "manifesto". These reasons "why" involve many factors, such as economic pressures, academic/political turf-building, basic assumptions in our society, and rejection, ignoring or downplaying such key variables as spiritual concerns & a meaning to suffering beyond disease & symptomology.

That's what makes this book well-worth the buying & reading. Though I quibble with some of his "what we must do" - not so much in what Elkins says, as in what he omits.

Disclosure I'm a clinical social worker, and of my six "genius" teachers, four of them were students of Carl Rogers. I've met Dave Elkins once, and I found him a kindred spirit in many ways, especially in what social workers are routinely taught, and what psychologists generally lack - an eye for the various forms of power, and so an eye for not only psychological explanations & solutions, but also the need for community-based, political explanations & solutions, too. Including the need for speaking out & doing something.

And that's what Elkins does so well clear summaries of research, explanations why this research isn't better known & better heeded, and proposals on what clinicians need to do.

My quibbles with Elkins? Let me state that my disagreements build on his premises, and so they're less important than my agreements, and they're meant, in no way, to diminish the force of this book. First, I think Elkins misses the additional power gained by combining humanistic therapies with aspects of the medical model, used in a humanistic way, at least with my client population. I work with clients who are complex & multi-problem, who have often experienced severe trauma (such as abuse, neglect & combat), who often have more biologically-based issues such as autism, bipolar, TBI & OCD (though nothing is ever ONLY biological; it's always also part of a real person). I think using techniques & DSM diagnoses in a humanistic way combines different powers, and so I can better reach, congruently match & effectively help more people heal. I also believe that Elkins doesn't fully take in economic limitations, especially in third world counties and in areas of the US where money is never likely to flow. Therefore, more radical solutions, such as teaching these "contextual factors" to laypersons - which are being successfully done by some of my colleagues - should also be included in his solutions. (This, by the way, has also be demonstrated effective by research.)

But again, our differences are less vital than our similarities. And they in no way take away the value of this book. Please buy it, read it, think about it, and do something.

I close with a poem by D.H. Lawrence with which Elkins closes his chapter on creating a new metaphor for psychotherapy, one that moves beyond the medical model, one that captures scientifically-demonstrated contextual factors. It's one that touches me, especially about my child clients with reactive attachment disorder (RAD) or my clients with combat PTSD. The chapter the poem closes -- "The Deep Poetic Soul An Alternative Vision of Psychotherapy" -- I found useful in compassionately understanding & effectively helping these very challenging, very needful clients. It's entitled "Healing"

I am not a mechanism, an
assembly of various sections
And it is not because the mechanism
is working wrongly that I am ill
I am ill because of wounds to the soul
to the deep emotional self
And the wounds to the soul
Take a long, long time
Only time can help
and patience
And a certain difficult repentance,
Long, difficult repentance,
Realization of life's mistake,
And freeing oneself from the
endless repetition of the mistake
Which mankind at large has
chosen to sanctify.

Some good words for healing, for our clients. And for us.
Ebook PDF Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books

0 Response to "⋙ Read Gratis Humanistic Psychology A Clinical Manifesto A Critique of Clinical Psychology and the Need for Progressive Alternatives David N Elkins Books"

Post a Comment