This book provides a look at philosophical practice from the viewpoint of the practitioner or prospective practitioner. It answers the questions: What is philosophical practice? What are its aims and methods? How does philosophical counseling differ from psychological counseling and other forms of psychotherapy. How are philosophical practitioners educated and trained? How do philosophical practitioners relate to other professions? What are the politics of philosophical practice? How does one become a practitioner? What is APPA Certification? What are the prospects for philosophical practice in the USA and elsewhere?Handbook of Philosophical Practice provides an account of philosophy's current renaissance as a discipline of applied practice while critiquing the historical, social, and cultural forces which have contributed to its earlier descent into obscurity.

The Church of Scientology is one of the most recognizable American-born new religions, but perhaps the least understood. With academic and popular interest on the rise, many books have been written about Scientology and surely more will follow. Although academics have begun to pay more attention to Scientology, the subject has received remarkably little qualitative attention. Indeed, no work has systematically addressed such questions as: what do Scientologists themselves have to say about their religion's history, theology, and practices? How does Scientology act as a religion for them? What does "lived religion" look like for a Scientologist? This is not so much a book about the Church of Scientology, its leaders, or its controversies, as it is a compilation of narratives and histories based on the largely unheard or ignored perspectives of Scientologists themselves. Drawing on six years of interviews, fieldwork, and research conducted among members of the Church of Scientology, this groundbreaking work examines features of the new religion's history, theology, and praxis in ways that move discussion beyond apostate-driven and expos� accounts.

Learn about a pioneering alternative to antipsychotic medication for schizophrenia! In Schizophrenia: Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment, Dr. Colin A. Ross—founder of the Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma—presents a new theory of the existence of a dissociative subtype of schizophrenia. Dr. Ross determines that some patients diagnosed with schizophrenia have symptoms closely related to dissociative identity disorder—or multiple personality disorder—and have a history of psychological trauma. In these cases, this unprecedented book proposes that the disorder is treatable—perhaps even curable—using psychotherapy rather than drugs. Schizophrenia: Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment will revolutionize the profession of psychology with data, arguments, and a review of previously published literature to support Dr. Ross’s theory. Traditionally, schizophrenia is considered manageable only by a lifetime of psychotropic drugs—expensive, harmful, and often ineffectual. This book offers an alternative free of damaging chemicals to improve quality of life for patients with schizophrenia whose symptoms may be trauma-based. Schizophrenia: Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment offers specific, detailed ideas and research on: genetic studies showing that while there is a genetic connection, it is not prevalent enough for biology to be the only predisposing factor in all cases of schizophrenia a comparison of the definitions of psychosis, schizophrenia, and dissociation—from the DSM-IV-TR and other texts—to determine relationships between the three disorders proposed diagnostic criteria for dissociative schizophrenia—dissociative amnesia, depersonalization, the presence of two or more distinct personalities/identities, auditory hallucinations, extensive comorbidity, and severe childhood trauma the principles of psychotherapy for dissociative schizophrenia—when to start therapy, trauma therapy, how to establish communication with the patient, and therapeutic neutrality and more! With an extensive bibliography of literatures on trauma, dissociation, and psychosis, as well as numerous tables and case studies, this volume presents a strong case for a fresh methodology in the treatment of this psychological abnormality. The theory provided by Dr. Ross brings hope for recovery to individuals with dissociative schizophrenia. This one-of-a-kind book is a must-read for psychiatrists, psychologists, and other professionals involved in research and/or treatment of schizophrenia. Its comprehensible text makes it useful for patients with schizophrenia and their family members as well.

Psychiatry in Law/Law in Psychiatry, 2nd Edition, is a sweeping, up-to-date examination of the infiltration of psychiatry into law and the growing intervention of law into psychiatry. Unmatched in breadth and coverage, and thoroughly updated from the first edition, this comprehensive text and reference is an essential resource for psychiatry residents, law students, and practitioners alike.

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Critiquing the Psychiatric Model is the first Volume of the Ethics International Press Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series. Understanding the current systems of psychology and psychiatry is profoundly important. So is exploring alternatives. The Critical Psychology and Critical Psychiatry Series presents solicited chapters from international experts on a wide variety of underexplored subjects. This is a series for mental health researchers, teachers, and practitioners, for parents and interested lay readers, and for anyone trying to make sense of anxiety, depression, and other emotional difficulties. Critiquing the Psychiatric Model sets out to present a clear picture of the current “mental disorder paradigm,” one that claims an ability to “diagnose and treat mental disorders” and that provides “medication” as its primary treatment. Critiquing the Psychiatric Model traces the history of the psychiatric model and its “diagnostic manual” and identifies its flaws and problem areas by presenting more than twenty solicited chapters from experts worldwide.

Robert Simon's Bad Men Do What Good Men Dream: A Forensic Psychiatrist Illuminates the Darker Side of Human Behavior is that rare title that is both essential reading for the mental health professional and accessible in style and content to the fascinated lay reader. In twelve powerful and provocative chapters, the author introduces readers to a psychological perspective on evil, character and destiny, as well as the making of good men and women. Simon also illuminates the psychology of psychopaths, serial killers, rapists and all manner of evil characters who appall and challenge us by their very existence. He rejects the common belief that his subjects are "monsters" with nothing in common with the more "normal" among us. Simon posits that if we deny our dark side, it can only obscure our understanding of violent offenders and impede our ability to both know ourselves and control our own, at times, unacceptable impulses. The author is among the foremost experts in forensic psychiatry. He is Director of the Program in Psychiatry and Law at Georgetown University School of Medicine. Author or co-author of more than two dozen books and editions, including the foundational Textbook of Forensic Psychiatry, Simon has made important contributions to the field of forensic psychiatry for more than 30 years. He is also an eloquent writer with a dramatic, yet nuanced, narrative style that takes the reader inside the mind of the evildoer. The first edition of this groundbreaking work garnered uniformly superlative reviews and was translated into several languages. This updated version retains Simon's engrossing portrayals and keen insight, while offering a number of key enhancements. The highlights include: Explorations of the Internet and violence, "corporate" psychopaths, cyberstalkers, perpetrators of school violence, and a new cast of serial killers, terrorists, and other evildoers. A psychological perspective on evil, serial killers, and us. Updates on the neuroscience and genetics of deviant behaviors. Reflections on empathy, character, and destiny: the making of good men and women. A new foreword by Thomas G. Gutheil, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Co-Founder, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School, that illuminates Simon's thesis and grounds it in historical context. Graphic but never sensational, unsparing but never cold, Simon's writing transcends the theoretical and achieves that most difficult of aims: leading readers to discover, contain, and transform the darkness within us all, to the betterment of our human condition.