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Psychological Investigations: A Clinician's Guide to Social Therapy

Lois Holzman and Rafael Mendez
East Side Institute for Short Term Psychotherapy

New from Brunner-Routledge . . .

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Doing therapy is like writing a song. At least according to Fred Newman (a songwriter, among other things) in this guide to social therapy, the group practice he founded over three decades ago. Praised by Kenneth Gergen as "a border dweller... sufficiently free from tyranny of the normal... [to] risk innovation," Newman has crafted a therapeutic method uniquely focused on the creative capacity of groups of people to perform their emotional growth. With family resemblances to social constructionism, other postmodern approaches and cultural historical activity theory, social therapy -- as theory -- has captivated and provoked practitioners and theorists alike. Here, in Psychological Investigations: A Clinician's Guide to Social Therapy, the practice that has impacted thousands of clients and hundreds of therapists moves to the foreground.

Featuring dialogues drawn from transcripts of teaching and supervisory sessions between Newman and therapists, Psychological Investigations shows social therapy as an improvisational, investigatory, development-focused method. At the same time, the book addresses practice issues of concern to clinicians and students of various schools of psychotherapy and counseling. In an introductory overview, developmental psychologist Lois Holzman narrates the intellectual history of her 25-year collaboration with Newman and the ongoing development of social therapy, inviting readers into the teaching dialogues that follow.

In dialogues such as "The Psychology of Being and Becoming," "What's Wrong with Truth Talk," "Making the Problem Vanish," "The Oppression of Identity," "Relating to Stories," "Helping People in Crisis," and "Men Who Act Violent," Newman responds to therapists' questions and addresses the broader methodological issues they raise. These dialogues -- over 70 of them -- present a comprehensive guide to the core philosophical and political issues of social therapy, the social therapeutic group process, the social therapeutic relationship, and social therapy's applications to health care, alternative medicine, education and youth development.

Psychological Investigations: A Clinician's Guide to Social Therapy will challenge those familiar with postmodernism, social constructionism, narrative and performance, and inspire anyone interested in alternatives to the prevalent views of emotional development, group psychotherapy and lifelong learning.

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